To promote sustainable cotton cultivation and improve the living conditions of smallholder farmers in Africa, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is providing grant funds of up to 8 million euros over a period of 4 years. This money will be used to finance support measures for 1.2 million smallholder farmers in 16 African countries. These measures will be carried out by the Cotton Expert House Africa (CHA), a nonprofit organization founded by the Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF) and the GFA Consulting Group (GFA).
left to right: Jan Sass, Cotton Expert House Africa | Tina Stridde, Aid by Trade Foundation | Federal Minister Müller
– Credit Florian Gaertner
“Fair fashion needs to be a priority; environmentally-friendly and fairly compensated cotton does not automatically mean expensive clothing. Initiatives like ‘Cotton made in Africa’ are leading the way here. They allow us to jointly establish better prospects for smallholder farmers and their families. Our clothing should be worth at least that much to us,” stated Federal Minister Müller, announcing that the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) will be providing financial support for sustainable cotton cultivation and the improvement of living conditions of smallholder farmers in Africa. The goal of this support is to increase the share of sustainable cotton produced in Africa, and to integrate more sustainable cotton into the textile value chains.
The BMZ has been funding state and private-sector initiatives to promote sustainable cotton production for many years, in part as a basis for developing the African textile industry. This support builds on a long-time partnership with the Aid by Trade Foundation and its sustainability standard, Cotton Made in Africa (CmiA), which has successfully been established on the market as part of the Competitive African Cotton Initiative (COMPACI). As the largest standard for sustainable cotton from Africa, Cotton made in Africa supports 780,000 smallholder farmers in 10 countries. “The Cotton made in Africa program provides a training system for smallholder farmers and creates an alliance of more than 30 companies and brands that demand certified CmiA cotton for their products,” explains Tina Stridde, Managing Director of the Aid by Trade Foundation. “We are pleased to be building on COMPACI’s success with the Cotton Expert House Africa as our implementation partner in Africa, and we continue to work on strengthening the capacities of hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers.”
As a social business, the Aid by Trade Foundation directs its income generated from the licensing fees paid by companies and brands back into the African project areas, financing further education measures for smallholder farmers as well as projects supporting village communities and nature conservation. In his announcement on the funding program, Minister Müller emphasized the importance of private-sector participation in the funding, with which a total financial volume of up to 20 million euros is to be realised.
The African cotton and textile industry makes an enormous contribution to economic, social and ecological development in the rural regions of Africa. In Africa, cotton is largely produced by smallholder farmers and serves as a cash crop – about 20 million people are supported directly or indirectly by cotton production.