In its first ever annual report, the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) highlights the vital role Africa plays in meeting growing global demand for cotton. 

The report begins with executive director Mr Hughes sharing why Cote d'Ivoire was the ideal host to last year's Plenary Meeting. Africa, he writes, produces about 6% of the world’s cotton but exports the vast majority of it. “If more of that fibre could be spun and made into finished products, it could generate billions of dollars in additional revenue annually, as well as employing millions of extra people.”

A growing global middle class, according to Mr Hughes, means a growing global demand for clothing — which represents 80% of the demand for cotton. “This is where Africa can have a huge impact. If we can raise the yields of Africa’s top five producers of raw cotton to the global average, it would equate to an increase of nearly 1 million tonnes of fibre.”

This 60+-page inaugural version of the annual report — which covers a range of topics — is intended to provide transparency and accountability, particularly in financial areas, while highlighting projects, goals and initiatives for the coming year. While the organisation has been around since 1939 and regularly publishes industry reports and other informational materials, producing an annual report wasn’t initiated until last year. 

“We had a vision for what we wanted to accomplish over the next few years, but first we needed to create a document that would make the ICAC both transparent and accountable for its efforts over the prior 12 months,” Mr Hughes said. “This Annual Report not only provides information to our Members about the ICAC’s past performance and future goals, it also houses our Strategic Plan — the document that each member of the Secretariat uses to guide their efforts over the next three years.”

The annual report, which is downloadable from icac.org, also includes the following:

- Metrics to serve as a baseline for future performance, including actual vs budgeted performance, how money was spent, and progress made on social media platforms.

- Columns from the heads of ICAC committees and research networks that detail their efforts from the past year and offer their vision for the future.

- Feature articles on two ICAC projects: A voice-based Soil & Plant Health app that can be used even by illiterate farmers, and a Virtual Reality Cotton Training Programme.

- The 2019 ICAC Communications Plan.

- The final statement from the 77th Plenary Meeting held last year in Cote d’Ivoire.

- A preview from the organising committee of the upcoming plenary meeting, to be held in Brisbane, Australia, 2-5 December.