In The Field

Better Cotton farmers keep records of their activities to support learning and continuous improvement. Producer Units have developed different record formats (“farmer field book”) to best respond to the needs and capacities of farmers. All farmer field books should include a section on BCI’s agronomic and economic result indicators.

At the end of the season, Producer Units compile data from all farmers. Learning Group averages are automatically calculated and all data is submitted to BCI. Results can be affected – sometimes dramatically – by external factors (rain, pest pressure, market price, etc) and can vary from one year to another. While real impact can only properly be measured over a longer period of time, BCI keeps records of all years, as the analysis of medium term trends can indicate change.

In order to make comparisons within a given year possible, Implementing Partners are asked to collect data from control farmers – farmers who are not part of BCI projects and who follow conventional practices. It’s important to note that while the data presented here illustrates encouraging trends, further studies are needed to assess the actual impact of Better Cotton.