C&A Foundation provides interest-free loans to smallholder and marginal cotton farmers in India to help them buy and install drip irrigation units. These efforts have resulted in higher earnings and an increased quality of life for thousands of cotton farmers. The affordability of drip irrigation for small landholders has resulted in a 31 per cent higher net income from cotton cultivation compared to non-drip farmers. Farmers previously dependent on rain-fed cotton to make a living have increased their gross earnings after joining the program. India is the world’s largest producer of cotton.

The program provides far more benefits beyond just an increase in income, with farmers seeing environmental and agronomic impacts thanks to drip irrigation. Water saving is also an achievement of this program as farmers involved in this initiative have reported using just 1,191 liters of water per kilogram of cotton compared to the 5,923 liters consumed by non-program farmers.

Uniformity in production, better yield of seed cotton and increased fertiliser cost efficiency as well as reduced weeding and lower labor costs are some of the other benefits of the program. C&A Foundation is the charitable arm of global fashion retailer C&A. The foundation has launched a global initiative aimed at helping brands, retailers and manufacturers find more innovative and sustainable ways of producing fashion.