Organic Exchange Monthly Farm Bulletin Issue 3, September 2010

New Directory – at your service!

“Our aim is to create a platform where all members of the value chain can find the sort of information required to build organic businesses”.

La Rhea Pepper, Senior Manager, Organic Exchange

For those wanting to know where to go to find critical contact information

about certification, extension services, research, financial support, and so

on – look no further! Organic Exchange has built an online Farm Resource

Directory for you to use free of charge.

The new Farm Resource Directory is the result of compiling all our contacts

- across all organic cotton growing activities - into one central database.

The Directory has been developed to give Producer Groups and individual

organic cotton farmers’ access to farm resources all in one place. The

resulting interactive database allows you to search for resources by a

number of different themes including country and category (certifiers,

financial provider, etc.).

The Directory can be accessed from our website, please visit

http://organicexchange.org/oecms/Farming-Center.html to begin using

the new Farm Resource Directory.

As with all information banks, things can change. If you wish to update or

contribute contact details to the Farm Resource Directory, follow the

options Edit Profile to update a resource, New User if you are a farmer or

group wishing to access the directory, or New Resource if your

company/organization and would like to be included as resource for

farmers. As always, we are delighted to hear from you if you have any

questions or comments. In the meantime, we hope you find the Farm

Resource Directory a useful tool for you and your business.

We are also making available ‘sub-directories’ for individual regions, If you

would like use to send you the contacts (for your Region only) please

contact Doraliz Aranda (doraliz@organicexchange.org ).

Thank you to all those people that kindly provided information and to ICCO

(our program partners) for the generous funding.

Welcome back! The Farm Team has

been very busy this month resulting in a

wide range of articles for ‘Engage’. To

begin with Doraliz Aranda interviews the

Managing Director of Remei – an ethical

company with the ambition to see their

organic cotton growers become self-

sufficient. Prabha Nagarajan reports from

India on the ancient technique of Homa

Therapy –which is finding a place in

modern agriculture. Alfonso Lizarraga

returns from adventures in the Peruvian

rainforest with stories of sustainable

agriculture. Meanwhile Silvere Tovignan

gives us an example of a community of

organic cotton growers taking a stand

against plastic.

This month we also release the Farm

Resource Directory online and we make

available two new reports. The first

provides an insight into the

environmental, social and economic

issues for Producer Groups – using the

results of our farmer ‘self-assessment’

scorecards. The second report is a follow

up to the farm systems baseline report

we produced a year ago. This report goes

deeper into the benefits of crop

diversification.

Finally, you can read about our new

‘Farmers’ Portal’. Each Producer Group

now has the opportunity to build their

own profile and fill in the 2009/10 Farm

and Fibre Survey online. We greatly

encourage you to register with us and

start using your Portal. We are currently

contacting all Producer Groups but please

get in touch with one of the Farm Team

to find out more... Best wishes, Liesl

Truscott, Director, Farm Engagement

In this issue >>> - Launch of farm resource directory

- Talking with Patrick Hohmann,

Remei

- Keeping GMO out of organic

- News from the Regions

- OE release two new reports

- Farmers’ Portal- gateway to Farm &

Fibre Survey

Connecting organic cotton farming communities

Engage

PATRIC~1.JPG

OE’s Doraliz Aranda talks with Patrick Hohmann about his company, Remei, and partnerships

with bioRe in India and Tanzania. Patrick tells us about farmer benefits, longer term goals, and

about the way they do business.

Feature >>> Talking with Patrick Hohmann

Doraliz: What are the benefits you provide to your farmers?

Patrick: We provide many benefits to support the development of organic cotton growing communities. These include - education and training, premium prices, purchase guarantees and a 5 year contract guarantee. So we really do go further. We also help with professional development and capital creation and work to see that profits get re-invested locally.

Doraliz: What improvements in farmer economic development can you see as a result of going organic – and their relationship with Remei?

Patrick: The standard of living of the farmers we work with is improving all the time due to the premiums paid and the purchase guarantee. This guaranteed economic advantage provides farmers with a secure income - even in insecure times. We also support local business ventures that spin-off cotton such as traditional handicraft. Then there’s the community development support that we provide through the bioRe Foundation of course. Things like smoke free stoves and accommodation facilities for teachers in remote areas...

Doraliz: Can you tell us about some of your current priorities and the challenges you face?

Patrick: GMO cotton is an increasing movement in India and a threat to organic cultivation. The GMO question - and security of organic - is putting a heavy stress on the quality control of organic textile chains and this will increase the cost. It is getting more and more difficult to get non-GMO seeds. Therefore, we have started our own seed production.

Doraliz: Tell us more about your products and who you sell to?

Patrick: We sell through retailers, we only make business to business relationships; we are not doing consumer-facing. We have the latest men's and children's collections - all 100% organic cotton. We can design, but normally the client wants their own design, which means we are producing for them but we can also give support with the design.

Doraliz: Do you have your own brand or do you produce for private labels?

Patrick: We are doing private labels, to retailers so they can sell their private labels - and to private labels directly. Our own brand is bioRe. bioRe keeps the whole chain transparent, but we don´t have a garment brand as such. We are servicing companies who would like to have organic and who would like to have a fully identified and checked production system.

Doraliz: What are tips for new brands coming to the organic sector; where do you think they should be very careful?

Patrick: The main issue is the traceability, because it is very difficult to manage and it takes years to put into place. Also, to work very carefully with companies who are really engaged in livelihoods and organic quality verification. Organic is a real challenge and it is not easy to do.

Doraliz: We know that Remei organizes annual meetings in India: an open day for customers in the production area. Could you please explain to us the aim of that activity?

Patrick: We invite customers to come and see what we are doing, and of course we can´t do this every day. We invite our clients and other interested parties. We take the opportunity to bring them together, so that they can talk, meet the farmers and see what organic agriculture is. It is our pulse beating, it is our life and we are inviting them to share our life. We visit the farms, farmers, schools, the gin... we look at the whole thing. It is about showing what we are doing and about transparency.

Doraliz: I see that Remei uses different channels to communicate with its customers, which one is the most effective?

Patrick: Our customers need to communicate with their clients, we are making the information available, we have a strategy in place, and we fit our customers into that strategy. We can talk about C02, schools, water, input management, GMOs, etc. We can answer these questions because we are in it every day. Our role goes beyond the hang-tags or the internet, our clients have to talk to the media, they need a partner who is capable of answering critical questions and we can provide information which is true and not contradictory.

Doraliz: What is the future looking like?

Patrick: Oh it looks very good!

Patrick Hohmann is the managing director of Remei AG - a leading company for the marketing of ecological-social cotton textiles. Remei sells yarn and produces fashionable garments made of organic cotton. Mr. Hohmann is President of the bioRe Foundation. Visit www.remei.ch

“The greatest good is to preserve life, to promote life, to raise life to the highest value which it is

capable of... this is more than a slogan for us but the values we are aiming at and stand for - not only

for our employees and the bioRe farmers but for all people involved in the whole bioRe textile chain.” Patrick Hohmann

Spotlight >> Do’s and Don’ts to keep GMO out!

A flyer has been produced by C&A, CottonConnect and

Organic Exchange to help organic cotton producers identify

the measures needed to avoid GMO contamination. So far

the flyer has been produced in English, Spanish, Hindi,

Gujarati, Marathi, Oriya and Tamil.

All international regulations for organic farming forbid the use of

GMO plants. This applies for cotton as well – thus no Bt-cotton is

allowed to be present in organic cotton.

In order to avoid the mixing of organic and Bt-cotton organic

farmers have to be very cautious in all steps of the production:

seed purchase

planting

harvest

storage

Even tiny bits of Bt-cotton can be identified with simple chemical

tests. If Bt-cotton is found in seeds, on fields or in the harvested

cotton the whole lot cannot be sold as organic cotton any more.

Therefore even a small portion of Bt-cotton may ruin the efforts of

many organic farmers.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact one of the OE

Farm Team.

Available to download from http://organicexchange.org/oecms/Farmer-Toolkit.html

“Help to maintain the purity of organic cotton...

avoid the mixing of organic with Bt (GMO)

cotton”

Christina Boecker, Sekem

Regional focus >>> India

Feature >>> Organic Plus: An introduction to Homa organic farming

By Prabha Nagarajan, Regional Director India, Organic Exchange The small farmer in a developing country such as India typically owns 2 to 5 acres

of land; practices rain fed agriculture and is resource poor. If he chooses to

practice organic agriculture, he may have only limited access to biomass and

composting. Many organic farmers struggle with maintaining even one cow,

despite knowledge of its valuable role in organic farming. In these circumstances,

‘Homa’ farming, that adopts ‘Agnihotra’ as a ritual of purification can be a

valuable tool to the organic farmer...

The Vedas are the primary Hindu Scriptures dating back in time from about 1000 BC

to about 200 BC. Revered as eternal, the Vedas consist of four primary collections of

verses or hymns. True to the oral tradition of India, the Vedas were passed on

through hearing and the written form was discouraged. It is believed that the

authors ranged from the gods themselves, to Brahmins, warriors or Kshatriyas,

sages, Sudras, half castes and even females!

The Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda and the Sama Veda are the first three. The last Veda

the ‘Atharva Veda’ is unique in that it deals significantly with the healing and

medicinal aspects of nature, revealing a vast body of indigenous knowledge and

doctrine. ‘Homa Therapy’ as prescribed in the Atharva Veda, is a simple process that

aims to remove the toxic conditions in the immediate atmosphere through the

agency of fire or ‘agni’. Though ancient, the technique was lost, but has been

revived in recent times, in order to minimise and combat the damage to our mother

earth or ‘Bhooma Devi’ as she is known in Sanskrit.

Knowledge and practice of Homa Therapy has proven to be beneficial to farmers’

practicing organic farming in a significant way. The late guru and teacher, Shri

Vasant V Paranjpe of the Five Fold Path Mission, Indore has been greatly

instrumental in spreading the message of Agnihotra to the farming communities in

India and abroad in the last few decades. In his words “Things have gone far too

wrong on the planet. Water, air, soil and subsoil have been polluted. We think we

are in a technological paradise. But the silver platter of technology has delivered us

in the jaws of death”. Shri Paranjpe and other promoters of Homa Therapy have

taken this practice to several countries and organic farmers in Peru growing fruit

vegetables, coffee, cocoa and cotton state that rejuvenation of soil and crops,

eradication of pests, improvement of micro climate and a whole host of benefits

have been accrued through Homa Therapy, as do farmers in Poland, Venuzuela,

Philippines, Australia, Germany and other countries. This feedback comes not only

from farmers but also from some scientists who have attempted to comprehend

how Homa works through setting up experiments and recording results, though

scientific validation is still on its way.

The practice of Homa Therapy is tuned to the biorhythm of sunrise and sunset. A

small fire is prepared in a pyramidal copper pot, of a specific size at the precise time

of sunrise and sunset, everyday. A few minutes before the actual time of sunrise

and sunset, the agnihotra fire is prepared by placing a flat piece of cow dung at the

bottom of the pyramid, and arranging some smaller pieces of cow dung on top

loosely, allowing air to pass. Some pure cow ghee is spread on a small piece of dung;

this is then lit and placed in the middle of the pyramid in order to get all the dung in

the pyramid to catch fire, using a blower or hand held fan to blow the air.

The ancient technique of Homa Therapy is

finding a place in modern agriculture.

Picture from www.homatherapy india.com

“Things have gone far too

wrong on the planet. Water,

air, soil and subsoil have

been polluted... Rejuvenation

of soil and crops, eradication

of pests, improvement of

micro climate and a whole

host of benefits have been

accrued through Homa

Therapy”.

This mantra is chanted, and a few unbroken grains of unpolished rice rubbed with

the ghee or clarified butter is taken in the left hand and added to the fire, after the

word ‘SWAHA’ in the first line. The second portion of rice is added after the second

‘SWAHA’ in the second line.

Just as in the sunrise mantra, at sunset the rice is added to the fire mid sentence

after SWAHA in the first and second line.

Practitioners of Homa sit in meditation till the fire in the pyramid gets extinguished,

as the aura is calm, meditative and healing. A tremendous amount of PRANA or life

energy, highly positive in nature is believed to emanate. This permeates the

atmosphere and heals the plants in the surrounding area. The ash that contains the

trapped energies is collected after it cools and kept in a special container. Several

agnihotra practitioners use the ash and agnihotra ash water for healing purposes,

for humans, plants and biotic life. Regular practise of Homa is believed to increase

the soils’ ability to retain moisture.

Today, Homa Therapy has ceased to be a Hindu practice only and has moved to the

realm of the secular. Spice farmers in Kerala who are predominantly Christian in

faith, do Homa with the same faith as many organic cotton farmers near Indore,

Madhya Pradesh do.

The internet carries several sites on Agnihotra. A few worth visiting would be

www.homatherapyindia.com, www.agnihotri.org and www.agnihotraindia.com.

The latter carries Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), details on estimation of

sunrise and sunset timings and you can also hear the way the mantra is to be

chanted. The simple yet sophisticated indigenous Indian practice may be valuable as

one of many catalysts that enable us to heal our mother earth, and a boon to our

organic cotton farmers.

“Today, Homa Therapy has

ceased to be a Hindu

practice only and has

moved to the realm of the

secular... Spice farmers in

Kerala who are

predominantly Christian in

faith, do Homa with the

same faith as many organic

cotton farmers near Indore,

Madhya Pradesh do.”

Practitioners of Homa Therapy. Picture from

www.homatherapyindia.com

The sunrise mantra is:

sooryaya swaha , sooryaya idam na mama

prajapataye swaha , prajapataye idam na mama

The sunset agnihotra mantra is:

agnaye swaha, agnaye idam na mama

prajapataye swaha, prajapataye idam na mama

India Continued...

Regional focus >>> Latin America Alfonso Lizárraga Travaglini, Regional Director of Organic Exchange in Latin

America returns from the Peruvian jungle. Here he explains how “two roads and a single goal” result in sustainable development...

Organic coffee is one of the main crops grown in Peru, currently the world's leading producer. Many coffee farmers in the Peruvian jungle plant organic and ‘sustainable’ coffee under the shade of the forest canopy; thus, conserving the forests, animals, and the native birds of this area.

Organic coffee farmers are accredited by several certification companies; this applies for ‘sustainable’ coffee as well. Sustainably produced coffee may not be fully organic but it is produced in a way that reduces the impact on the ecosystem and aims to improve the livelihood of farming communities. Rainforest Alliance is one such organization that certifies sustainably-produced coffee. However, many farmers achieve full organic certification as well. This duality is an advantage in the international market because it allows cooperatives and farmer associations to sell coffee in a variety of markets worldwide and to get ‘a better deal’.

In the Peruvian northern jungle, not far from the coffee farms, there are farmers growing organic cotton. Here, the farmers grow several varieties of coloured organic cotton as well. The organic fibre goes to companies that make yarn, fabrics and garments exported mainly to the United States but also to Europe and Japan.

In the Peruvian jungle there are native varieties of cotton which are short-staple, white and brown. On a journey through the Peruvian jungle I found that only in the northern jungle is it possible to find this type of cotton - and in very close proximity to farmers producing organic and sustainable coffee. In San Martín’s region, for example, there are two well established organic cotton businesses; Bergman Rivera and PeruNaturtex. Both work primarily with organic and coloured cotton.

The efforts of coffee and cotton producers in San Martín’s region in Peru's northern jungle result in a change of attitude about production systems. The global demand for certification is generating environmental and economic benefits for the farmers in the region. This demonstrates that agriculture can be practiced sustainably while preserving the precious tropical forests.

Feature>>> Preserving livelihoods and tropical forests

Juan Hilario García- Pranatur’s organic

and sustainable coffee farmer. Certified

by IMO and Rainforest Alliance.

Org

an

ic c

offe

e fa

rmin

g a

nd

ju

ng

le –

co

-exis

tin

g

Out and about>>> Biofach Latinamerica This is the unique meeting point for organic producers in Latin America.

Suppliers of cosmetic ingredients, apparel, food and drinks get together

for two days to show and share their products. This year the fair will be

held from Nov. 3rd –5th in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

For more details visit www.biofach-americalatina.com.br/en/

"I want to protect the forest so that my grandchildren

can see the animals we used to hunt.”

Juan Garcia

"I bought this little farm with coffee, later I bought

more land, but I don’t cut the forest because they

conserve water and wildlife"

Juan Garcia

Regional focus >>> Africa

OE’s Silvere Tovignan, Regional Director Africa explains how the self-assessment

tool for farmers’ groups has generated a surprising outcome - a fight by the

women of Sonsoro village (Northern Benin) against plastic bags.

Farmer self-assessment (using ‘key performance indicators’) is a methodological

tool initiated by Organic Exchange to help organic farming communities self-

evaluate their activities. The evaluation ranges from environmental to economic

and social. KPIs are based on the hypothesis that adopting organic farming should

lead to some quantitative and qualitative changes. The methodology helps to

raise farmers awareness of issues and to make observations about whether the

expected changes are happening or not, and identify what might be preventing

the improvements where necessary. Training on how to use this tool has been

held with many organic farming groups in Benin - and with the women farmer

group of Sonsoro village. For the women, the tool generated an original idea that

has not yet received vast attention in Benin... yet.

During a training session on KPIs, Sonsoro women highlighted the decline of soil

fertility as one of the main causes of the drop in yields which is one of the biggest

problems they are facing. One of the factors aggravating soil fertility decline is

discarded plastic bags. As in most (West African) countries, plastic bags belong to

the daily life of people. They are used all the time to carry food and goods from

the market to home. After this use, most people drop them on the ground and it

has now been revealed that they are the cause of many environmental problems

including the drop of soil fertility, as mentioned by the Sonsoro women group.

The plastic bags prevent good infiltration of water in the soil, reduce the capacity

of roots of plants to grow and increase the sensitivity of soil to flooding.

Having made this diagnosis, the women’s’ group of Sonsoro initiated the idea of

making bags from cotton fabric to sell to their members and surrounding

communities. The expectation is that by using cotton bags for shopping, they can

reduce the number of plastic bags brought home after shopping and their release

into the environment. This was the beginning of a small spin-off business

(alongside organic farming). With seed funding of 300 dollars, they sourced 50

meters of cotton fabric from the spinning factory, CBT (located in the south west

of the country). Among the group, all the skills exist for the success of the project.

Some members of the group are seamstresses and have sewing machines, others

design the bags and others are voluntarily in charge of marketing. For the past

two years the women have conducted this business on a part time basis (they are

busy with agricultural activities during the farming season), they have sold more

than 700 bags at 50 cents each. According to the leader of the group, the business

continues and is coupled with sensitizing the community towards reducing the

irresponsible disposal of plastic bags into the environment. She evaluates

modestly that her group has not yet banned or totally cleaned plastic bags from

Sonsoro village, but they have made a good contribution to reducing the impact

of plastic in the local environment.

The hope is that this small pilot initiative spills over to other communities in West

Africa as behavior change is demonstrated to be an effective solution to this

global environmental problem.

Spotlight >>> What has OE’s ‘key performance indicators’

got to do with stamping out plastic bags?

Above: Members of the Women Farmers

Group of Sonsoro village, Benin

“Plastic bags prevent

good infiltration of

water in the soil,

reduce the capacity of

roots of plants to grow

and increase the

sensitivity of soil to

flooding.”

“The (cotton bag)

business is coupled

with sensitizing the

community towards

reducing the

irresponsible disposal

of plastic bags into the

environment.”

While an organic certificate guarantees certain things, it is not a holistic indicator of sustainability; especially in areas of social and economic impacts but also in wider environmental issues such as soil fertility, water consumption and climate change. Organic Exchange’s new report offers a birds-eye view of farmers’ views.

Organic Exchange’s self-assessment ‘sustainability scorecards’ have been created to help organic cotton farmers identify key issues for their ‘sustainable development’. To this end, the assessment program has focused on farmer self-assessment. However, the resulting ‘scorecard’ also helps cotton producers communicate their priorities to others such as brands, buyers and other stakeholders. A growing number of producer groups are using the scorecards to identify priorities for their Group and implement their own improvement programs based on their ‘scores’ and the conversations the process encourages.

Organic Exchange has produced a summary report offering a bird’s eye view of the scorecard ‘results’ to date. The report explores the collective environmental, social and economic perceptions made by organic cotton farmers. (Please note OE keeps the identity of Producer Groups confidential).

What we have learned from farmer self-assessment:

Organic cotton farmers generally feel positive about their ability to farm effectively and tended to score themselves well in the agronomic indicators.

Organic cotton farmers tend to be able to provide for most of their families’ food and nutritional needs.

There is good evidence of social development – particularly by some African farmer groups. Note it is important also to appreciate the contribution that ‘Fairtrade’ certification makes towards ‘good’ scores for social development.

Indicators of education for children painted a mixed picture; with some good examples of schooling programs and promotion of an education for girls (but not everywhere).

A number of Groups experienced challenges securing natural resources; such as water and energy. Plus, the preservation of biodiversity is a concern for some. Environmental issues will often be rooted in geographic and economic conditions of the region and not specific to organic cotton farmers.

Scorecard ‘scores’ for investment in health care tend to reflect weak infrastructure and poor public investment affecting the community –rather than a situation unique to organic cotton farmers.

Despite the better profits for organic; economic development was an area of concern for many farmers. Scores here reflect farmers’ concern about their ability to invest in the longer term planning of their businesses... evidence that there is still more to do to ensure that ‘going organic’ guarantees improved futures for all.

OE prioritises awareness-raising of a ‘fair price’ and the economic development ‘growing organic’ can bring. To find out more about the sustainability scorecards discussed here please contact liesl@organicexchange.org To read the full report visit our website http://organicexchange.org/oecms/Organic-Exchange-Publications.html

OE Report >>> assessing sustainability

Above: Self-assessment, India

Above: Training day, West Africa

Farming for furture generations, Latin America

Above: Training day, India

OE Report >>> Crop diversification – makes good sense

Organic Exchange has spent two years now looking closely at rotation crops and

other ‘organic farm system crops’ grown by organic cotton farmers. We have

recently released a report, following up on our baseline report last year. Both reports

can be found on our website.

Income from the sale of certified organic cotton is obviously fundamental to organic cotton farmers’ livelihoods. However, there are other ways organic cotton farmers can generate income and improve livelihoods. Organic cotton generally requires the growing of other crops (such as rotation and trap crops) to maintain the organic system (e.g. to improve soil fertility, control pests and so on), just as important are the varieties of food these crops bring to the farmer’s table. We took a closer look at crop diversification and the benefits diversification gives the organic cotton farmer; environmentally, socially and economically.

Livelihoods for organic cotton farmers can be improved in a number of ways:

By having enough food available to meet the family’s nutritional needs. And reducing the need to ‘top up’ on food.

By contributing a supply of locally-grown food (staples and fresh produce) to local markets.

By utilizing emerging regional organic markets. Regional markets can provide higher prices for some crops, if there is a demand for organic. Big cities and supermarket chains are growing centres of organic. These markets may also provide opportunities for growers to invest in further processing such as pressing, juicing, pulping or drying (of relevant crops) either on the farm or through local business partnerships.

By tapping into additional export markets. Investing in growing and certifying organic farm system crops such as sesame may strengthen income security and reduce the risk associated with fluctuating prices for cotton, poor growing seasons and so on.

To read the full report please visit our OE website: http://organicexchange.org/oecms/Organic-Exchange-Publications.html

Above: spring onions, India

Above: post harvest care of soya bean,

West Africa

Above: beans make good combined

rotation and food crops, India

>>> Show-casing best practice...

The Farm Team is busy preparing case studies of inspiring organisations. These short studies will provide a closer

look at the special qualities that contribute to successful business models; especially the ethical, environmental

and economic development opportunities for farmers. To be successful – and support improvements within the

value chain – a ‘good’ organisation also needs to be profitable. These ‘success factors’ will be highlighted in each

study. If you have a good story to tell please email Liesl Truscott (liesl@organicexchange.org) and we can discuss

further.

Above: Vermicomposting, Paraguay

Monthly... Farm Engagement Team

Contact Details

Doraliz Aranda, Business Development Manager

Doraliz@organicexchange.org

Alfonso Lizarraga, Regional Director, Latin America

Alfonso@organicexchange.org

Prabha Nagarajan, Regional Director, India

prabhanagu@gmail.com

Jose Santisteban, Research Manager

Jose@organicexchange.org

Silvere Tovignan, Regional Director, Africa

tsilvere@yahoo.fr

Liesl Truscott, Farm Engagement Director

Liesl@organicexchange.org

Please email Liesl with your...

General enquiries

Suggestions for this bulletin

Questions for the team to answer

Organic Exchange takes a global approach to developing markets. Our work focuses on building demand and supply simultaneously. We focus on the entire value chain, from seed procurement through to retail. We provide models and tools for collaborative planning, problem solving, product development, and point of purchase materials.

Through the work of Organic Exchange, and as a direct result of funding from our key partner ICCO, we now positively affect the lives of over 220,000 organic cotton farmers worldwide.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PRODUCER GROUPS...

Farm and Fibre survey 2010 – getting started

The Organic Exchange ‘Farmers’ Portal’ is now available for Producer Groups

all over the world to access online and record farm and fibre information.

You may have heard from us already and begun using your ‘portal’ but if you

haven’t we will be in touch shortly to explain the process. Alternatively, you

can contact us at your convenience or set up your Farmer’s Portal by

yourself by going to: http://farmhub.organicexchange.org and registering.

Once you have registered you are then free to enter your Portal whenever

you like; update your Producer Group details, add photos to your photo

gallery, and fill in the ‘Farm & Fibre’ survey. Your information will remain in

your portal and you can keep adding to it - you do not have to complete all

in one sitting. However, we would like your farm and fibre data by the end of

September to give us time to produce our annual Report as quickly as

possible. Remember, your Portal will remain confidential to you – only

shared with us at Organic Exchange. Nobody else can gain entry to your site

unless you let them.

Organic Exchange will use your information in three main ways:

1. We will aggregate data for our annual Farm and Fibre report. This data is

collated at a regional level and we do not report individual producer group

information. If we want to report anything specifically about you and your

Producer Group in this report we will always check with you first.

2. We will create a Farmer Profile to post on our ‘Meet the Farmer’ webpage

(replacing our Farmer Visibility’ site). This will be a summary of information

that promotes your Group and will include contact details, some details of

your organisation and of your product, a photo and a quote from you.

3. We will prepare for you a ‘Farm and Fibre’ brochure customised to your

business. This brochure will be yours to use as you see fit: promoting your

business, sharing information with buyers, and so on. It’s up to you.

We encourage you to contact us or register online. Any feedback you

have about the online Farmers’ Portal and suggestions for making it even

better please let us know - contact liesl@organicexchange.org .

• Discussion and debates

• Tips for better organic farming

• Our views on emerging issues

• Comparing notes with a fellow farmer

• A closer look at the market

• A day in the life of a retailer

• Your questions answered

Please visit our website: www.organicexchange.org