The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) works with 69 field-level partners – Implementing Partners – to provide training, support and capacity building to cotton farmers around the world. From 13 to 15 January 2020, BCI Implementing Partners from more than 10 countries will gather in Siem Reap, Cambodia, for the annual BCI Implementing Partner Meeting & Symposium.
The annual event enables BCI’s partners to come together to share best practices in sustainable farming, learn from one another, collaborate and engage in valuable networking. This year, the event will focus on biodiversity and BCI’s biodiversity requirements, as defined by the Better Cotton Principles and Criteria. Attendees will be joined by cotton industry experts to discuss successes and challenges from the previous cotton season, as well as sustainable solutions and innovations for the coming season.
Expert guests include Gwendolyn Ellen, Founder of Agricultural Biodiversity Consulting; Vamshi Krishna, Senior Manager, Sustainable Agriculture at WWF-India; and Nan Zeng Ph.D, Climate and Agriculture Specialist at The Nature Conservancy.
Gwendolyn Ellen has over three decades of experience working in sustainable and organic agriculture. She has conducted research into entomology, botany, plant pathology and crop and soil science in multiple western agro-ecosystems. In addition, Gwendolyn has managed agricultural programmes focused on functional agricultural biodiversity for universities and the non-profit sector.
Vamshi Krishna is an expert in agricultural science, specialising in soil science and agricultural chemistry. He has worked with WWF-India for the past 13 years and played a key role in developing and demonstrating best management practices for the BCI Programme in India. Vamshi has also conducted research into soil profiles under different land use for the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture.
Nan Zeng has spent more than a decade researching and working in the field of ecology. She has participated in many projects focused on ecosystem services, biodiversity protection and sustainable agriculture. As a certified coach in the Conservation Coach Network, Nan has previously led training sessions on biodiversity for nature reserves and NGOs.
Highlights and key learnings from the BCI 2020 Implementing Partner Meeting & Symposium will be shared following the event. If you have any questions, please contact BCI Training and Assurance Manager Graham Bruford at [email protected].
