Organic cotton from cultivation project in Uganda

Cultivation Project: Uganda

Uganda: Organic Agriculture as a Livelihood

In light of further tightening of certification guidelines by GOTS and EU Organic, the economic situation for organic cotton farmers – particularly smallholders – has, in some cases, deteriorated dramatically worldwide. The entire organic cotton market, and therefore Cotonea too, is feeling the effects. As a result, our long-standing partner cooperatives in both Kyrgyzstan and Uganda have decided to withdraw from GOTS due to the high additional costs of certification. We at Cotonea are currently assessing how to deal with this changed situation in line with our corporate values. At the same time, we are in discussions with new, certified suppliers. We will keep you updated on further developments.
More background information is available here.

In northern Uganda, on farmland that lay fallow for decades due to the war, organic cotton has only been grown for a relatively short time. A brutal civil war raged here until 2006. Today, tens of thousands of people make a living from the organic farming project.

For 20 years this region was caught up in a bloody civil war. Most people were only able to return to their land from the refugee camps from the middle of 2010. Many existential things – such as the knowledge of agriculture – were lost.

Monitoring in Uganda: Everything is painstakingly listed in a thick notebook. How high was the harvest? How much money was paid out? How much cotton can Cotonea rely on? At the end of the day everybody knows the efforts of their labour.

Good money for good work. The amount picked is weighed and documented, the wages are paid out in cash and receipted. Cotonea pays for the cotton in euros, which can be exchanged for the instable currency Ugandan shilling (UGS) if required.

Cooking in the designated cooking hut. The hut is swept numerous times a day, cleanliness is a top priority. Life, however, is lived outside: the daytime temperature is between 18 and 28° C all year round.

The project’s farmers take the right to express their opinions very seriously. After welcoming gospel and prayer, the negotiations start. Everyone can express their wishes and concerns.

Taking a breather amid the fluffy fibres. The warehouse is filled nearly up to the roof, the cotton harvest has nearly all been brought in. After strenuous physical labour everyone is tired, but content.

The children are the pride and wealth of Ugandan parents. Eight children such as here, or also 10 to 12 children are no rarity. They also take pride in their new hut, which is being clad with clay bricks.

This young harvest worker carries his harvest to the collection point. He transports the fluffy cotton fibres how one transports nearly everything in Afrika: on his head.

Ugandans are proud, neat clothes are important. These women are wearing their most beautiful dresses. They live in the north, near Gulu, with their families and work for Cotonea. In total tens of thousands of people live off this project.

A break in the shade of the straw roof. Peaceful quiet in the scorching sun. But the impression of drought is deceptive. Uganda is green, rain falls throughout the whole year, especially during the rainy season, but also a relatively small amount between September and February.

As a key partner Cotonea helps to give people new perspectives. The land is fertile and naturally irrigated by rain. Near the equator a number of harvests of different field crops can be reaped all year round. Organic cotton generates income which is mostly used by farmers to secure the health and education of their children.

Map of Uganda – the number one country for Cotonea organic cotton.

Organic cotton for Cotonea textiles from Uganda in Africa – almost 6,000 km away.

Experienced farmers receive high yields, however, many young farmers who have not had the possibility to learn the skills required for agriculture must first be trained and educated. In conventional cotton cultivation projects, an uncountable number of people lose their lives to pesticide poisoning every year. Here the ecological cultivation preserves the fertility of the soil and the purity of the important groundwater in a natural way.

Supplying the farmers with natural seeds becomes an increasingly important task, the seeds are specifically cultivated and further developed. If you add the growth of crop rotation produce (sesame, chilli, sunflower seeds, beans, etc.) to the calculation, both projects each feed many tens of thousands of people - including their often extensive families. This way we, together with local project partners, create conditions under which the people have a livelihood and can invest in their education and health.

Cotonea's Organic Cotton from Uganda (2004–2026)

Uganda: Organic Agriculture as a Livelihood