The Cotton Farming Community
Providing market access to smallholder farmers in northern Uganda.
- Supplier Story
- Organic cotton farming
By 2009, Northern Uganda was finally at peace. More than twenty years of violence and strife from the conflict between Joseph Kony's LRA and the Ugandan Army had left 95% of the population in camps, away from their ancestral homes and pastoral livelihoods, a great deal of work had to be done to get the populace on its feet.
A South African entrepreneur experienced in the cotton industry knew that if the North was to experience anything like a revitalization, its needed its staple crop, cotton, to experience its own. Tens of thousands of farmers had once relied upon Gulu and its cotton ginnery, to get their cotton to market. The entrepreneur leased the ginnery in October of 2009, and in the five years since the purchase, the company has retrained farmers, resurrected the ginnery operations and built a network that gives more than 60,000 Ugandan farmers access to international market.
The company and its farmers have a constantly evolving relationship. Whereas initially energy was put towards helping farmers relearn the basics and understand organic principles, now there is a constant dialogue on how to best invest the money they make and move forward as a partnership. The choice to grow organically is a boon to the company and its farmers: the latter get a 10% higher price on their cotton than they would otherwise. - Supplier Photos
- Supplier Photos
- Supplier Photos
Interested in this supplier?
Have a suggestion for a supplier?
Send us a note and we’ll get you set up.