Better Cotton Signs WTO Call for Action

On 27 July, as part of the 8th Aid for Trade Global Review, Better Cotton joined the Partners’ Conference focused on building a more resilient cotton sector. Jointly organised by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the International Trade Centre (ITC), the event focused cotton’s contribution to mitigating climate change, reducing poverty, enhancing food security, and the creation of jobs, especially for women and youth.

During the conference, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala urged donor agencies to mobilise resources in support of cotton projects in least-developed countries (LDCs), including the Cotton-4 countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali.

During the event, a “Call for Action” on cotton was initiated, which recognises the challenges hampering the ability of cotton-producing LDCs to compete. The Call for Action commits signatories to continue seeking solutions that will enable these countries to improve competitiveness, achieve higher yields and greener production, and add value both to fibre and by-products.

At the signing ceremony, the document was signed by DG Okonjo-Iweala along with representatives, from the ITC and UNCTAD, who also co-sponsored the Call for Action. Conference participants from the Cotton-4, UNIDO, the OACPS Secretariat, Afreximbank and Better Cotton also signed.

The document remains open for signature ahead of World Cotton Day on 7 October 2022.

Learn more about the Better Cotton programme and where Better Cotton is grown.

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