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our impact
04
Powerful On-the-Ground Farm Insights
At OCA, we are committed to highlighting the significant social and environmental benefits of organic cotton farming to our Contributors and the broader industry. We recognise that beyond certification, comprehensive data is essential to understanding organic farming systems. Collecting and analysing environmental farm-level data allows us to quantify the tangible benefits of organic cotton farming. Leveraging data-driven insights allows us to identify opportunities for intervention, optimise value chain efficiency, and foster transparency and collaboration among stakeholders, ultimately paving the way for a more sustainable and transparent future for organic cotton production.
Our guiding force
After six years of diligent data collection through our Farm Programme, we've gained profound insights into the challenges confronting the organic farming community. In 2023, we expanded the use of this wealth of data through our Farm Programme Insights Dashboard—a digital platform providing comprehensive access to the Programme's Impact Results at the farm project level. This platform empowers users to filter and engage with data, offering both an overview of performance metrics and the option for deeper exploration of granular details.
Within this platform, users can delve into tailored information encompassing organic cotton volumes, prices, and farmers' income, alongside pertinent social and demographic insights such as farmers' backgrounds, family dynamics, education, and income levels. Designed to catalyse our future initiatives, the platform offers invaluable insights into farmers' motivations for transitioning to organic practices, their existing needs, and their expectations.
In 2023, we updated the Farm Programme Insights Dashboard with information showing the regenerative practices most used by farmers and the percentage of farmers reporting the use of these practices. We also introduced a page on gender, where we display indicators such as the percentage of women who have received training and the farming activities they are in charge of.
Exclusively available to Contributors actively participating in our Farm Programme, this platform provides an enhanced avenue for exploring field insights. Through intuitive charts and graphs, it facilitates more efficient interpretation of the diverse indicators collected from our farm projects, empowering Contributors with actionable insights to drive meaningful change.
In 2023, we further secured funding and partnerships to develop our environmental data measurements and reporting. This includes regional LCAs and biodiversity indicators.
"OCA's data collection efforts and dashboard continues to be a valuable resource to understand farmers economics, perceptions, cotton yield, and so much more. We look forward to seeing other environmental indicators included in the dashboard."
Matt Dwyer
Head of Product Impact and Innovation, Patagonia
