Cotton Round Table, New Delhi

Client: German Development Bank (GIZ)

February, 2019

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) organized a one-day round-table conference titled “Promoting Sustainable Cotton Production and Marketing: Issues, Challenges and Strategy for Up-scaling Best Practices”. The objective of organizing the workshop was two-fold.

• Assess various sustainable cotton models and discuss new strategies that could be used to boost sustainable cotton production.
• Assess the challenges and opportunities in supply chain and marketing mechanisms in cotton sector and provide a way forward.

Under UPNRM project, WhitePeak Consulting conducted a detailed study of business models on drip irrigation in cotton and BCI (Better Cotton Initiative). These research findings were presented at the round-table conference. A thorough analysis of cost economics of the model in Wardha and Aurangabad indicated that farmers using drip irrigation generated healthy profits, increasing their chances of availing  commercial lending from banks and other institutions. The recovery rate of loans was also relatively favorable, proving the viability of the implemented business models.

Various stakeholders had presented best practices on cotton production systems at the round-table conference. Mr. Abhinav from WhitePeak Consulting summarized the key takeaways from each presentation and facilitated the discussion. WhitePeak was also involved in arranging logistics and providing organizing support to the conference.