World Cotton Day Observed To Highlight Its Significant Role In Maintaining Economic Stability

The World Trade Organisation hosted the first World Cotton Day on October 7, 2019, and this year’s theme is "Cotton for Good".

New Delhi:World Cotton Day is celebrated on October 7 annually to highlight the significant role in maintaining economic stability in the countries which are producing it. World Cotton Day has been celebrated since 2019.

The World Trade Organisation hosted the first World Cotton Day on October 7, 2019, in response to an initiative of the Cotton- 4 countries, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali. The event was organised by the WTO Secretariat in collaboration with the secretariats of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC), the World Trade Organisation (WTO), in its website, states.

WTO took social media X and wrote, “This year’s World Cotton Day on 7-8 October is themed “Cotton for Good.” The WTO will be actively involved in the celebration activities in Benin, led by DG NOIweal. Our colleague Kobby from the Cotton Team introduces the WTO’s work on cotton and its plans for the event next week.”

On the cotton issue, the Food and Agriculture Organization wrote on X, “Cotton is more than a commodity. The cotton sector contributes significantly to the economies of many developing countries and the livelihoods of millions of rural smallholders worldwide.”

According to WTO, a United Nations General Assembly decision on August 30, 2021, officially recognized October 7 as World Cotton Day following a proposal submitted by Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Cote d’lvoire and Mali. The UN resolution, A/RES/ 75/318, proclaiming World Cotton Day acknowledges the vital role cotton plays, recognizing the livelihoods and subsistence it provides for millions of people and its broader economic and social impact around the world.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, on its website, states that in 2024, World Cotton Day will be celebrated on October 7 in Cotonou, Benin, marking the first time the event will be held in a country rather than at an international organization. This also marks the first celebration of WCD on the African continent.

To enhance the global image of Indian cotton and promote the "vocal for local" initiative, the Ministry of Textiles launched the Kasturi Cotton Bharat programme which is a pioneering effort in traceability, certification and branding of Indian cotton. This initiative is a collaboration between the Central government, trade bodies, and industry.

The government has been actively promoting the textiles sector through a variety of schemes and initiatives. The role of government spans from enabling access to raw materials, and other factors of production, supporting the manufacturing set-up in achieving higher efficiencies with cost competitive edge and facilitating access to markets.

A significant initiative toward integrating the distributed textile sector is the PM Mega Integrated Textile Regions and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks Scheme. This scheme aims to create a modern, integrated, large-scale, world-class industrial ecosystem, attracting investments and boosting employment in seven major states, as informed by the Union Minister of State for Textiles, Pabitra Margherita in a written reply in the Lok Sabha recently.

In India, the Ministry of Textile recently said the Kasturi Cotton Bharat programme of the ministry is a pioneering effort in traceability, certification and branding of Indian cotton.

To provide complete traceability of Kasturi Cotton Bharat tagged bales across the supply chain, QR-based certification technology is being used at each stage of the processing and a Blockchain-based software platform will provide end-to-end traceability and transaction certificate. In this regard, Microsites with QR code verification and BlockChain technology have been developed.

The Kasturi Cotton Bharat programme is operational at the national level and its promotion is being made at national and international platforms. Hence, the allocation of funds is not at the state level. The implementation of Blockchain Technology under the Kasturi Cotton Bharat program is designed for stakeholders across the entire Indian cotton value chain including Andhra Pradesh, as per Lok Sabha data.