Pesticide Action Network UK

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Pesticide Action Network UK

• Towards a moral fibre
• Promoting alternatives to pesticide use in cotton
  through research, education, dialogue
  collaboration
  

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Contents

• Who we are
• What we do and why
• What others do and how we complement and work
  with them

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Who we are

• PAN UK is part of PAN Europe, one of 6 regional
  offices of Pesticide Action Network
  International, a coalition of over 600 NGOs and
  other groups committed to reducing the hazards
  from pesticides.

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Cotton

• Cotton is a priority crop for the organisation in
  demonstrating that alternatives to pesticides are
  not only desirable, but practicable because
  
• Cotton uses 25 of all insecticides applied in
  agriculture on only 2.5 of agricultural cropped
  area but
  
• Organic cotton offers a viable alternative for
  poor, smallholder farmers in developing countries

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Networking building relationships

• We provide a contact node between a diversity of
  organisations in the North and South by
  
• Collecting and sharing information, and
• Linking producers and projects to potential
  buyers, investors and donors.
  
• Coordinating research activities and
  documentation
  

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Education/Awareness raisingthe real costs of
cotton

• Producing materials for different audiences
• Videos
• Talks and workshops
• Media work
• Campaigns a postcard campaign in 2005 will aim
  to get consumers to ask their retailers for
  organic cotton products.
  

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Market development

• Practical workshops for stakeholders
• Information exchange and collection
• Market Information advice Service (in
  development) for businesses, for farmers, for
  consumers building on International Organic
  Cotton Directory, initially aimed at UK actors.
• PAN Germany are also developing a German specific
  one
  
• Producing a Beginners Guide to the UK organic
  cotton market (eventually may include versions
  for German, Swiss, Italian, French, Dutch,
  markets as well)

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Working with partners in Africa and worldwide

• We have supported work on organic cotton since
  1994 in Africa, and on the impacts of
  conventional cotton since the 1990s.
  
• Other PAN centres look at cotton and alternatives
  in Latin America, North America, Asia Pacific
  
• Research is done in collaboration with PAN
  partners on different areas.
  
• PAN UK provides some fundraising support
• We facilitate networking and building linkages to
  link the field to the final product
  

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Linking the field to the final product

• Is central to our role being a grassroots led
  organisation, whose agenda is set by consensus -
  but the international programme is often driven
  from the South.
• We provide an easy translation service between
  the realities of farmers and other bodies
  whether manufacturers/retailers in Europe or
  other NGOs

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Our reasons

• Bénin farmer Gera Paul says
• 'While organic farming is more difficult, it
  saves lives from not using pesticides. We no
  longer have debt problems. Income is all profit
  at the end of season. Land and soil are
  preserved.'

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Why we do this

• Cotton production uses more hazardous pesticides
  than any other crop.
  
• These are often hazardous organophosphates,
  responsible for many acute poisonings.
  
• African women and men producing cotton rarely
  have access to training and advice, leading to
  indiscriminate and uneconomic use of pesticides,
  often creating insect pest resistance and leading
  farmers to use more pesticides to less effect.
• The pesticide endosulfan for example was
  responsible for approximately 70 deaths in the
  1999-2000 cotton season in Benin, and a further
  24 deaths in the 2000-2001 season.

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Why we do this

• Conventionally produced cotton is suffering
• liberalisation has decimated extension and
  training services and removed subsidies on
  inputs, driving up prices to farmers.
  
• Productivity problems are linked to intensive
  farming degraded soils, increased insect pest
  resistance, polluted water and reduced
  agricultural biodiversity.

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Why we do this

• Organic cotton production improves the incomes
  and food security of small-scale African farmers
  
• Organic cotton farming improves farmer's
  knowledge and skills (technical and in marketing)
  and tends to increase profit margins,
  
• contributing to poverty reduction for resource
  poor farmers.

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Other initiatives in Europe

• PAN Germany Cotton Consumption Conversion
  Initiative
  
• This project works in a stakeholder format bring
  together companies, retailers, local authorities
  and so on to encourage the conversion to the use
  of organic cotton.
• Stakeholders include small and large companies
  including Otto-Versand, the mail order company

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Other initiatives in Europe

• AIAB Italia the Italian Organic Association
  this year began awareness raising initiatives
  aimed at Italian textile industry about possible
  impacts of organic cotton, and how this could be
  integrated into Italys high end textile industry
  and fashion planning. Attended by spinners,
  mills, and fashion houses including Giorgio
  Armani and Italys Coop-Italia, one of the
  countrys largest retailers.

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AIAB Italia TessilBio project aims
To present the main environmental and social
problems related with cotton farming and textile
production To analyse aspects affecting the use o
f organic cotton in textiles products and
processes. To promote the development of a produc
tive chain for the design and production of
textiles and garments from organic natural fibres.
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Other initiatives in Europe
In France Initiatives began here last year led
by an independent consultant, Sylvie Giscaro.
The large retailer Monoprix are launching a
t-shirt line as a result The French Foreign Minis
try are showing interest in supporting organic
cotton work.
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Other initiatives in Europe
In Switzerland Helvetas This Swiss NGO are follo
wing where the private company Remei led, by
promoting organic cotton growing and encouraging
its use by a large retailer, Migros
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Where next?

• In Hamburg next year the first European
  conference on organic cotton will take place
  
• It is hoped that a European Working Group on
  organic cotton will be established to share
  information and collaborate on awareness raising,
  and compile figures on market development,
  production and retail.