The Boards of Cotton Australia and the Cotton Research and Development Corporation met in Sydney last week to discuss progress on the Australian Cotton Strategic Roadmap and ensure alignment on key projects.

Sustainably-Certified Cotton from Australia
Angela Schuster provided an update on the review of the myBMP program, which aims to ensure it continues to meet industry and customer needs, supports market access, and delivers value.

Significant progress has been made on traceability, with Brooke Summers reporting on industry research funded by the Queensland government. The first two phases—scoping industry requirements and identifying potential solutions—are complete, following consultation with stakeholders across the supply chain.

Human Rights
The Boards discussed the need for verifiable human rights evidence to meet market expectations while minimising additional burden on growers and industry. Research on human rights risk in Australian cotton has been proposed, with Cotton Australia and CRDC working together on the next steps.

Data
CRDC’s Dr Meredith Conaty outlined work underway to establish an industry data platform, which will support other roadmap priorities. Work on this project is expected to begin in the coming months.

Australian Cotton Marketing and Promotion
Discussions on the Marketing pillar of the roadmap focused on how to leverage investment across the other pillars to support market access and value for growers. The Boards reviewed marketing investment in other commodities and explored potential funding models.

The Strategic Roadmap for Australian Cotton was largely funded through the federal government’s ATMAC grant program. The Boards also discussed the industry’s greenhouse gas reduction efforts and future work in this area, ensuring continued collaboration on these key issues.