Two years ago, Transformers Foundation sought to correct the record on cotton with a massive, 137-page report titled “Cotton: A Case Study in Misinformation.”
This World Cotton Day, the nonprofit organization is revisiting that report, publishing an update Saturday incorporating the latest data from the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC)—the last report covered data from 2019, while the update refers to 2020 data from ICAC’s 2022 Cotton Data Book—as well as Bayer Crop Science and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
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Though the revised report’s numbers on water and pesticides showed little change from what Transformers published two years earlier, the update introduces new data on fertilizers, including sales and usage. As in other chapters, the new fertilizer section stresses the importance of taking a more localized view of environmental impact.
The report compares India and the United States as an example of this. The former boasts the highest area of cotton production in Transformers’ dataset, 12.1 million hectares, with a production of 5.22 million metric tons and yield of 433 kilograms per hectare. U.S. cotton farms, meanwhile, account for 4.16 million hectares of land, produce 3.82 million metric tons and have a yield of 918 kilograms per hectare. Though the U.S. is substantially more efficient, it uses fertilizers at a much lower rate, with the country applying just 623,000 metric tons of fertilizers to India’s 2.75 million metric tons.
In cotton cultivation, the update notes, seed breeding plays a “pivotal role” in determining yields. Countries with higher yield crops benefit from advances in breeding, highlighting the need for better managed and regulated seed breeding, research and distribution.
Still, all else being equal, higher yielding fields will require more nutrients, the report said. The document offers a framework for fertilizer management it refers to as the 4Rs: right rate, right source, right placement and right timing.
Ani Wells, the communication director of Transformers Foundation and the update’s author, explained the 4Rs during a pre-release press conference last month. “Right rate,” she said, means determining the appropriate amount of fertilizer needed, whether that’s via soil testing or visual assessment. If soil tests are unavailable, “right source” means selecting the most suitable fertilizer type considering factors like cost, nutrient availability and efficiency of use. “Right placement” refers to placing nutrients in the root zone to ensure optimal uptake. Finally “right timing” means applying nutrients at the appropriate stage of that plant’s growth cycle.
“We had one cotton expert, which I think paints a really great visual, tell us that it is not possible to apply the right rate from the right source in the right place at the right time when you’re trying to shovel three tons of compost into a field,” Wells said. “As you can imagine, getting all these four harmonized when doing that is quite challenging, but nonetheless we do believe this is a great framework for resource use optimization that we should be aiming to get it as right as best as we can. But, again, this underscores the need for doing your due diligence to understand the local reality of what’s really going on in your soils.”
Variations in fertilizer use depends on many factors, including soil type, yield, weather conditions and climate, crop type and management practices, the report noted. Soil fertility may even vary within a field, meaning multiple samples should be taken and nutrient levels tested periodically to confirm fertilizer is being used efficiently, it added.
The report also touches on the importance of soil health. Embracing “soil health systems,” it notes, can enhance microbial diversity, improve the soil’s ability to hold more water, uplift farmer livelihoods, boost agricultural productivity and enhance climate resilience. These improvements can in turn help optimize yields and reduce irrigation needs, leading to cleaner water and the improved health of the surrounding ecosystem, the report added.
Though the soil will always release some amount of carbon, Simon Ferrigno, a cotton expert and independent researcher and writer on sustainability who advised on Transformers’ report, said healthy organic matter in the soil can help mitigate that loss.
“The really important thing is reduce soil erosion, have good crop cover, put as much organic matter back into the soil every year as you can–don’t rely just on fertilizers, do use compost, even if it’s hard to measure,” Ferrigno said.
Transformers’ report includes several calls to action, the first of which is for data due diligence. For brands and suppliers, this includes localized and context-specific data collection and analysis. The paper then calls for companies to work with farmers or cotton intermediaries to collect and disclose data on pesticide and fertilizer use.
Due diligence legislation drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines is around the corner, Ferrigno noted. The cotton expert praised the framework for its highly localized approach and voiced his support for legislation around transparency.
“We hope the legislation will be strong,” Ferrigno said. “You hear rumors that people may not be able to, say, accept membership of a stakeholder initiative as equivalent to having done due diligence and I would just say to that ‘No, never.’ It has to be brands directly taking responsibility. You can never use a standard or multi-stakeholder initiative as a proxy because it just lets the lazier… brands set the agenda.”
