| December 31, 2003,
organic-research.com/Swissinfo: Switzerland is
hoping to increase the production of organic cotton by
training farmers in Kyrgyzstan in fertilizer-free agriculture.
In addition, Switzerland is promising Swiss companies
will buy the “bio-cotton” to help fund Kyrgyz
farmers during the transition period.
The program is being run by Swiss agronomists and has
goals of converting 300 farmers and producing 400 tons
of organic cotton a year. Currently around 20 participants
have completed the course.
The timing is right for such a program according to
Jens Engeli, a Swiss agronomist based in Jalal Abad,
because many Kyrgyz farmers are still learning the basics
of agriculture.
"With the land privatizations of 1996, workers
on the collective farms were suddenly made independent
farmers," says Engeli. "The problem was that
workers previously were employed as mechanics or something
specific and only the [collective farm] agronomist had
the overall agricultural knowledge."
Not only do agronomists not have to fight a tradition
of chemical usage they may be presenting the only feasible
option for the Kyrgyz people. According to Engeli, getting
hold of chemical fertilizers is unaffordable for most
of the area’s farmers. One alternative is the
creation of compost, which the Helvetas project encourages.
Helvetas has also pushed farmers to adopt crop rotation
to help the soil recover.
"Naturally, planting different crops means there
is less cotton," Engeli said. "But that means
farmers also have food for their own consumption."
Kyrgyzstan’s organic cotton production is unlikely
to reach markets for another two years, largely because
organic certification to European standards takes at
least three years.
"Naturally, planting different crops means there
is less cotton," Engeli said. "But that means
farmers also have food for their own consumption."
Kyrgyzstan’s organic cotton production is unlikely
to reach markets for another two years, largely because
organic certification to European standards takes at
least three years.
"Many farmers are very interested in the program,"
said Janibek Osmonaliev, the vice governor of Jalal
Abad’s local authority. "Organic cotton definitely
has potential," he added. "And if there is
a demand for organic cotton, we will definitely fill
it."
Most of that demand is expected to come from wealthy
countries such as Switzerland, where a handful of importers
have expressed an interest in the organic product.
However, currently, the only Swiss company that has
confirmed its interest is the Winterthur-based textiles
group, Paul Reinhart.
"We have been trading organic cotton for 13 years"
said Ulrich Siegrist, a company spokesman. "But
its overall share on the global market remains very
marginal," he added.
Reinhart already buys organic cotton from Mali, in
West Africa. Similarly the supermarket giant Migros
as well as the Swiss clothing manufacturer, Switcher,
source organic cotton from Africa. However, both firms
have decided not to support the Kyrgyzstan project.
However Tobias Meier, a spokesman for Helvetas in Zurich,
said he was confident the cotton would be sold.
"Even Nike and other big firms are interested
in organic cotton," Meier said.
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