Organic Cotton Accelerator Launches Training Curriculum, Puts It in Public Domain

The Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA) has published its Organic Cotton Training Curriculum, a publicly available standardised training-of-trainers curriculum on organic agronomic best practices.

• It is the outcome of collaboration across the sector—developed with the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) as the research partner, and in consultation with OCA's implementing partners and field teams, besides other local experts.
• The curriculum is the first training package designed for organic cotton growers in over a decade, and contains trainer guidelines, 13 in-depth organic cotton farming modules and field activity guides.
• It will ensure robust training-of-trainers and the optimum transference of knowledge to existing organic and in-conversion farmers, the OCA said.

The Details: The Organic Cotton Training Curriculum is a publicly available web-based set of train the trainer courses on organic agronomic best practices.

• Developed over two years by OCA and FIBL, it comprises training materials from across the sector, adapted to local Indian practice through consultation, translation, and pilot sessions.
• It is the first organic cotton growers training package developed in over a decade and includes in-depth modules and activity guides to work alongside existing participatory training methods.
• Currently available in English, and soon Hindi, the OCA will create further translation and adaptation to Pakistan and, eventually other organic cotton territories. Feedback from the initial rollout and updates will be incorporated into the latest versions.
• The OCA has created a dedicated online learning management platform and mobile App to provide virtual access to the curriculum.
• The Organic Cotton Training Curriculum is available to the organic cotton sector and public, containing a breadth of topics from seed to harvest, and is a great introduction to understanding the growing season cycle.

The Modules: The 12 OCTC training modules include:

1. Introduction to organic farming and organic cotton;
2. Cotton species, cultivars and seeds;
3. Land preparation, planting and field management;
4. The cotton plant;
5. Soil fertility and crop nutrition;
6. Pest and disease management;
7. Water management;
8. Crop diversification;
9. Harvest and post-harvest;
10. Crop calendar summary;
11. Farm business management;
12. Group certification.