Better Cotton Celebrates Partnership and Regenerative Agriculture in Pakistan 

The Better Cotton Pakistan team recently celebrated a new partnership agreement while hosting a first-of-its-kind regenerative agriculture workshop. 

Better Cotton Pakistan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the All Pakistan Textile Mill Association’s (APTMA) Cotton Foundation (ACF) to advance the production of more sustainable cotton in the country.   

The APTMA is a trade organisation representing more than 200 Pakistani textile companies. Its Cotton Foundation was established to drive improvements within the country’s cotton value chain.  

The partnership will help promote the Better Cotton Programme across Pakistan, strengthening ties with key stakeholders as well as capacity to deliver training and resources to cotton farming communities.  

It was appropriate that the agreement was formalised during a multi-day event in Lahore, Pakistan, which included a pivotal workshop on regenerative agriculture and discussions about an impact marketplace. ‘Scope of Regenerative Agriculture and Priorities for an Impact Market’ addressed key factors of what is needed to secure a thriving future for the cotton industry.  

Emma Dennis, Senior Global Impact Manager at Better Cotton, and Dr Shafiq Ahmed, a Senior Advisor at Better Cotton, presented on the importance of fundraising and field-level investment to accelerate the adoption of more sustainable practices. Emma outlined the development of Better Cotton’s proposed Impact Marketplace, a framework through which stakeholders could directly finance farm-level activities; Shafiq discussed Better Cotton’s existing Impact Accelerators, a series of environmental and social projects that will underpin the future initiative.   

Other workshop speakers represented the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) and Soorty Enterprises Pvt Ltd, Pakistan’s largest vertically-integrated denim manufacturer. Retailers and brands, civil society organisations and Better Cotton Programme Partners also attended. Better Cotton’s Country Director for Pakistan, Hina Fouzia, and the Chairman of APTMA South, Kamran Arshad, signed the Memorandum of Understanding between Better Cotton and APTMA during an official ceremony. 

Better Cotton licenses more than half a million farmers in Pakistan, helping them develop their skillsets and implement more sustainable agricultural practices.  

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