Mixed cropping on a cotton farm, with flood irrigation, India, January 2012

Women and Children, India, January 2012

Mr Sura Punja Makvana, farmer, India, January 2012

Cotton picking, January 2012

Ripening and open cotton bolls, organic, India, January 2012

Organic cotton field, India, January 2012

a cotton picker, January 2012

Better cotton, Biotech, India, February 2012

Mealy bug damage, India, January 2012

BCI Cotton, India, February 2012

Cotton and Cumin, February 2012

Fairtrade cotton at the gin, India, February 2012

Seed cotton at the gin, India, February 2012

Inside the gin, India, February 2012

Cotton being baled in the bale press, India, February 2012

Unrefined cotton seed oil coming out of the mill, India, February 2012

Seed cotton loaded high before unloading, India, February 2012

Agrocel organic and Fairtrade park, India,              February 2012

Organic compost preparation, Paraguay                                 

Here compost is prepared on a rolling basis to ensure there is always a mature supply

Children in rural areas making their own entertainement           

Cotton is not just about fibre. In smallholder systems rotation means they also produce food

Quality control. A demonstration of cotton with different trash levels to show how it is graded.

Mini-gin, Paraguay

Traceability. Seed cotton bags marked with date, farmer name, location to ensure cotton is traceable to and after the gin for certification

Paraguay: farmers' children's futures depend on the farm making enough income to ensure food, education and health  

Organic farmer, Paraguay, drinking terere                                                                                             

In the fields of white gold, Paraguay

Organic cotton shirt, locally grown, manufactured and marketed, Paraguay

Handwoven organic cotton garments, Paraguay

Artisanal skills and machines are still in use, Paraguay

Sewing patterns on organic home textiles, Paraguay

Sewing patterns on organic home textiles, Paraguay

A farmer's organic field crop notebook, Peru, April 2006

Rising cotton seedlings, Benin

Celia Roa, Agronomist and trainer, organic cotton, Paraguay

Farmer affected by chemical poisoning, Benin, 2004  

An organic child, Benin

Andres Garay, farmer, Paraguay

Army ant, Paraguay, October 2005

Baled organic cotton, in cloth bags, Arasy, Paraguay, October 2005

Carts are a rare luxury in many areas, Benin, 2003

Organic cotton Bales, Benin

Cotton store, Benin

Seed cotton in bags, before ginning

Pesticides are often used with insufficient protective equipment in developing countries. These cotton clothes and the leaking backpack means clothing will become saturated with chemicals and skin affected, while the sprayer will be breathing in fumes, Benin

Most farmers in Africa do many tasks by hand and with hand hoes, Benin

Cotton seedling, Benin

Cotton field early in the growing season, Benin

Receiving educational packs, PNP cotton project, Peru

Well, with captures for domestic, irrigation and rain water, Gujurat, India, March 2006

Open cotton boll, Turkey

Cotton, Turkey

Cotton, Turkey

Burkina farmer Abou Traore and child                                 

Cattle play multiple roles on the farm, as traction and as manure sources, Paraguay

Cattle providing direct manure                                               

Organic certification requires strict traceability and segregation, Turkey

Children with bicycles their parents were able to buy them with organic cotton income so they can attend secondary school, Nizoumey, Benin

Chillies are also used in botanical insecticide preparations, Paraguay

Colette Segue, organic cotton farmer, Nizoumey village

Colette Segue, with others, Nizoumey village, Benin

Coloured tree cotton, Peru, April 2006

Compost demonstration adding in some external inputs

Compost heap, Zambia

Compost layers, Paraguay

Compost pit, India, 2007

Compost pit, Zambia

Compost, India, March 2006

Composting, India, March 2006

Cotton, maize and cattle, Paraguay

Cotton seed in basement

Mixed cropping, Brazil

Davo Simplice Vodouhe, Director, OBEPAB, Benin

Demonstration and experimental plot, Zambia, 2007

Demonstration and experimental plot, Zambia, 2007

Pesticide container, Benin. These are often re-used, sold on, refilled or buried.

Organic cotton label

Mature cotton, Texas

Cotton field, Texas

Marked cotton bale, certified to both EU and US regulations, Uganda

Farming family, Burkina Faso, 2011

Seed cotton in store, Peru

Elevated tank for manure collection and maturation, India

Farmer and child, Benin, showing off consumer goods purchased with organic cotton profits.

A farmer with his main tool, the hand hoe, Benin

Cotton farmer at rest, Benin

Farmers friend, Zambia

Cotton farmers with support and marketing staff, Turkey

Visiting cotton fields, Benin

Field with water management, Gujurat, India, March 2006

Fields in preparation, Senegal

Cotton leaves, India

Farmer, Tamil Nadu

Cotton field, Tamil Nadu, India

Cotton flower, India

The pesticide that caused the damage, Benin

Pesticides are rarely kept in secure and safe stores, and may bestored near food and animals

Cotton gin, Turkey

Goat in manure collection hut, Zambia

Going home after a day's work

The Niger river feeds many cotton growing areas in Mali

East Asia Organic Conference, Korea, 2009

Organic clothing on display, Korea 2009

Naturally dyed organic cotton, Korea, 2009

Naturally dyed organic cotton, Korea, 2009

Harvested organic cotton, Gujurat, India, March 2006

Health visitor and patient

The good ship Hope, Fortaleza, Brazil

Hospital, Benin

Cotton field, India

Picked cotton, India

Picked cotton, India

Peru, 2006

Farmers in Turkey, 2007

Kids keeping warm, Benin, 2002

Kumana Organic, Zambia

Zambia

Landscape in Zambia

Organic cotton rotation crops packaged for sale, Zambia

Irrigation pumping station on a check dam, Zambia

Small scale grain milling, Zambia

Check dam, Zambia

Lacena Ouattara, Marianne Traore and family with their cotton crop, Burkina Faso

Laurent Glin, responsible for coordinating farmer field schools in organic cotton, OBEPAB, Benin

Liliana, field agent and farmers, Peru

Liquid Manure, India 2007

Maize, Benin

Making compost tea, Zambia

Mangassa village and their health dispensary

Manure not produced on the farm needs to be transported, Paraguay

Marcelline, an elected organic farmers representative of Mangassa village, Benin

Marcelline, organic cotton village group secretary, Benin 2006

Medical staff involved in researching pesticide poisonings

Medicines used to treat pesticdes poisonings in Benin

Michel Atekokale, President of the Nizoumey organic cotton farmers group, Benin

Mixing pesticides with bare hands

Spraying pesticides, with a back pack sprayer and no protective equipment, Benin

Organic cotton field, Peru, April 2006

Organic cotton seedling, Benin

Organic cotton seedling, Paraguay, October 2006

Organic cotton seeds, Arasy, Paraguay, October 2005

Organic cotton, open and new bolls showing, Gujurat, India, March 2006

Organic farmers, Nizoumey village, Benin

Unginned seed cotton, Peru

Cotton bales in store, Peru

Cotton fibre

Bags of seed cotton, ready to transport to the gin

Raw cotton seed

Prepared field, Ma., India

Mr Sharma, cotton farmer, Ma., India

Farmer, Peru

Cotton bales at the gin, ready for shipment, Peru

Cotton bolls

Plant waste can be used as mulch, Paraguay

Ready for the planting season - as soon as the rains come. Senegal, 2003

Poultry manure collection system, India

Prepared fields, India

Rotation with Nitrogen fixing crops such as beans is essential in soil management

Seeding fields, Senegal, 2003

Show room, Egedeniz, Turkey

SOFITEX sign, Burkina Faso, 2010

Some farmers drink milk to try and relieve poisoning symptoms

Fields and irrigation equipment, Turkey

Water pump, BioRe Maaikal, India, June 2009