Better Cotton Pakistan's latest project is supporting programme partners in the country with standardised data collection tools, software licences and training for field staff.
It aims to streamline data collection processes as well as ensure efficiency, timeliness, and credibility throughout the data lifecycle in time for the start of Pakistan's 2024 cotton season.
Better Cotton Pakistan said the initiative comes at a time when consumers, legislators, and industry stakeholders are increasingly demanding transparency regarding the sourcing and supply chain of cotton.
Recognising this need, Better Cotton Pakistan hopes to meet these growing demands through the implementation of “sophisticated technological solutions” at the grassroots level of farming.
Through this initial phase, it is anticipated that nearly 40% of Better Cotton Producer Units in Pakistan will embrace tech-driven data collection methodologies, paving the way for enhanced sustainability and efficiency within the sector.
This digitalisation route draws upon insights learned from previous pilot projects conducted across various Better Cotton programmes, including:
- Farmer data digitalisation initiatives in India
- A project to digitalise farmer field books in Mozambique
- First-mile traceability pilots in Pakistan.
In January 2024 the Monitoring Evaluation and Learning, Data and Assurance teams from nine Better Cotton Programme Partners in Pakistan congregated for a comprehensive workshop to lay the groundwork for the project.
The workshop focused on standardising data collection tools, encompassing aspects such as farmer identification, participation, capacity building, adoption of sustainable practices, and farm-level inputs and outputs.
The primary objective of the workshop was to give participants the necessary tools and knowledge to seamlessly integrate digital data collection methods into their operations.
Muhammad Qadeer ul Hussnain, digital agriculture manager at Better Cotton commented: “This strategic move towards digitalisation reflects Better Cotton’s commitment to enhancing Programme Partners’ efficiency, improving data quality, ensuring data traceability, elevating analytics capacity, and strengthening data governance within the country team and Programme Partners, setting a positive precedent for the future of cotton in the region.”
