The story

Pakistan is the fifth largest producer of cotton in the world, with more than 500,000 farmers depending on the crop to make a living. However, 10-15% of the cotton harvest is lost every year because of poor agricultural practices, inefficient storage and transport problems, at an annual cost of $350 million.

 Since 2014, CABI has helped more than 30,000 farmers and 62,600 farm workers to conserve natural resources, protect the environment and themselves, by limiting the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides as part of the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI). As a result of adopting more sustainable alternatives, yields have improved and so have earnings, while costs have decreased.

 Shah Muhammad Dahri, a smallholder farmer from Sandhan village in Sindh province, expects his yield per acre to increase by 200kgs compared with last year after CABI’s BCI project team suggested he compost farm waste to use as organic fertilizer. The higher yield means he has 17% more income to spend on education, food, medicine and other essentials for his family.

 Guided by CABI, Shah Muhammad collected farmyard manures, sugarcane mud, poultry manures and other green waste. After letting it decompose for three months, he then applied the organic fertilizer to his land before sowing the cotton seed.

 Not only was Shah Muhammad able to dramatically reduce his use of synthetic fertilizer compared to previous years, but he also saved the amount of water needed to irrigate his fields. Why? Prolonged use of synthetic fertilizer strips the soil of its ability to retain water, while organic compost helps to restore this vital function.

 “Compost application on my cotton crop not only increased yield per acre but also improved the quality of my cotton,” Shah Muhammad said.

 “CABI is working hard to introduce environmentally-friendly and farmer-centred techniques to achieve the goal of better cotton production,” Rauf Ahmad Khan Laghari, Project Manager, CABI, said.