Africa

Case study

Regenagri program in Côte d’Ivoire

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Participating organizations

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Context

Cotton is a globally significant cash crop, cultivated in over 80 countries, primarily in China, India, the United States, Brazil, Pakistan and Australia. Its production, mostly by smallholder farmers, provides income for more than 250 million people worldwide and employs almost 7% of all labor in developing countries.1 In Côte d’Ivoire, cotton is a key agricultural export and a major source of income for rural communities. Cotton farmers increasingly face social and environmental challenges, including erratic rainfall and prolonged droughts. Most cotton farmers live below the poverty line and struggle with limited access to finance, education and social infrastructure. The Tchologo region in northern Côte d’Ivoire faces specific challenges, with scarce employment opportunities, a 63% poverty rate and a surge in incoming refugees from Burkina Faso.2

people worldwide get income from cotton

of all labor in developing countries is employed by cotton

poverty rate in the Tchologo region

Key facts

Landscape:
Tchologo Region, Côte d’Ivoire
Crops:
Cotton as main crop, crop rotation including soybean, groundnut, Bambara nuts, local beans, maize, rice, sesame, millets
Organizations involved:
Olam Agri and its subsidiary Société d’Exploitation Cotonnière Olam (SECO), Regenagri certification, African Cotton Foundation (ACF), Cotton Made in Africa, Better Cotton Initiative, Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (ICRAF), International Labour Organization (ILO), Mitsubishi Corporation, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling Alliance (ISEAL), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
Scope:
20,374 farms covering 250,000 hectares of land – of which 98,000 hectares of cotton cultivation
Total capital deployed:
Average USD $484,000 annual running cost
Timeline:
Program developed in 2021, implementation started in 2023-24

Ambition of the project

Established in 2008, the Société d’Exploitation Cotonnière Olam (SECO) aims to positively contribute to the prosperity and well-being of smallholder farmers, the protection and regeneration of natural resources and the delivery of responsibly produced cotton from cotton producing landscapes in the northern regions of Côte d’Ivoire. Through a certification-based approach and sector-wide engagement in production landscapes, SECO aims to empower farmers in their transition to regenerative practices to restore soil health, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, improve livelihoods and produce traceable and high-quality cotton.

The program also relies on strong on-the-ground social interventions, with the ambition to contribute to the overall aim of SECO’s parent company, Olam Agri, to increase the net incomes of 500,000 farmer households and improve food security for 200,000 vulnerable farmer households by 2030.

Olam Agri, to increase the net incomes of

farmer households

The program at a glance

SECO’s efforts to regenerate cotton-producing landscapes in the Tchologo region of Côte d’Ivoire uses certification schemes and a broad base of partnerships. It follows five key principles in providing farmers with the opportunity and skills needed to transition to a regenerative farming mode: minimize soil disturbance; maximize crop diversity; keep the soil covered; maintain living roots year-round; and integrate livestock.

Through certification by Cotton Made in Africa since 2014, Regenagri since 2023 and the Better Cotton Initiative since 2024, SECO aims to create a traceable and reliable cotton production system to build stable and trust-based buyer-supplier relationships and help achieve three shared goals:

Reduce the environmental impact and carbon footprint

Regenerate the soil and increase organic matter

Improve community livelihoods through increased yields and crop rotations

Through the program, farmers have access to training on responsible crop management techniques such as agroforestry, the use of cover crops, crop rotations and intercropping, the application of biochar, the adoption of enriched composting (bokashi), weed management and crop-livestock integration. SECO delivers training programs in partnership with various organizations, leveraging expertise and capabilities in the production landscape. For instance, it conducted different pilots to support the creation of biochar production units and the use of demonstration plots in the application of biochar as organic fertilizer. Working in partnership with the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (ICRAF) and Mitsubishi Corporation, the goal was to improve farmer incomes by increasing productivity and soil carbon stocks.

To accompany farmers in their transition to sustainable practices, SECO has been supporting the creation of Farmer Field Schools (FFS). These schools use a participatory education approach designed to empower small-scale farmers by enhancing their knowledge and decision-making skills through hands-on and field-based learning. For the 2024–2025 campaign, SECO set up 615 FFS, benefitting over 20,000 farmers. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) co-funded the schools through the Sustainability and Value Addition in Agricultural Supply Chains program. And SECO worked in partnership with Solidaridad through the Supporting Sustainable Cotton Production program.

“It was during the FFS that I learned how to make organic fertilizers such as biochar and bokashi. I spread these fertilizers on my cotton plot even before sowing. For me, the FFS was of great importance. It allowed me to learn how to cultivate and better manage my fields, take care of my crops and my animals, and optimize my farming activities. This contributes to my well-being and increases my income from cotton farming.”

– Cotton producer working with SECO

A strong social purpose

With the goal of improving farmer livelihoods, SECO has been investing in cotton landscapes. The ambition is to support farming communities in securing and diversifying their income sources, increasing food and nutrition security and gaining access to healthcare. It also aims to stimulate green job creation.

SECO has created over 175 Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA), self-managed and self-capitalized savings groups that use individual members’ savings to lend to each other, strengthening the economic resilience of farming households. The program has facilitated the adoption of new income-generating activities, with over 5,000 activities (cosmetics, small food businesses) started by women entrepreneurs. VSLAs have also enabled women to cover household expenditures such as school fees and healthcare.

Through a partnership with the International Labor Organization and funding from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, SECO is building 24 youth-run biochar business units. The aim is twofold: creating locally relevant employment opportunities for rural youth, specifically stimulating the creation of green jobs, and helping communities adapt to a changing climate.3

In collaboration with the International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling Alliance (ISEAL) and Better Cotton, SECO is partnering with Elucid, a social enterprise, to support access to essential healthcare services. Elucid’s digital healthcare platform connects farmers with local healthcare providers, provides a secure payment system and enables users to provide feedback to healthcare professionals. This partnership aims to increase the number of farming households with access to healthcare and under social protection.4

Finally, in the production landscape, SECO has built 21 water pumps and supported the opening of 50 literacy centers, benefitting over 5,000 users over the last decade.

Financing model

SECO finances the program through annual investments, including USD $361,000 in 2025. The investment covers the costs of certification and the internal costs related to program implementation.

In parallel, a project jointly managed with the African Cotton Foundation (ACF) is promoting Regenagri practices through the mobilization of USD $123,000 in 2025. The aim is to support farmers in increasing their yields, encourage compost production, use cover crops and intercropping, and plant trees. The project supports farmers as they test innovative solutions and adopt good agricultural practices, while contributing to regenerating soils.

SECO finances the program through annual investments, including

in 2025

Monitoring, reporting and verification

A monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) system tracks SECO’s progress in the creation of certified and traceable cotton production landscapes in Côte d’Ivoire. The program monitors both the implementation of practices – such as the application of fertilizers – and the achievement of outcomes – such as carbon sequestration and yield gains.

Spyder 2.0 includes all information related to the processing of cotton, from seed cotton dispatch to farmer registration, GPS mapping (100% of lands mapped), input distribution, farmer engagement activities and cotton picking. This supports life-cycle assessments, which enable course correction throughout the program’s life cycle.

VEGA is a mobile-based digital warehousing solution that automates, simplifies and monitors the movement and processing of goods, creating complete traceability of the cotton supply chain.

Credits: Olam Agri

Cool Farm Tool is the tool used for Regenagri certification.

SECO often conducts the monitoring of results in collaboration with partner organizations. For instance, the National Centre for Agronomic Research (Centre National de Recherche Agronomique – CNRA) supports the collection and analysis of soil samples.

Table 2: Objectives and progress monitored per impact area

Theme
Objective
Indicators
Progress to date
Climate
Reduce GHG emissions
Metric tons of CO2e, per hectare and per metric ton of product
Expected to be available in October 2025
Biodiversity
Encourage biodiversity
Metric tons of synthetic fertilizers per hectare
Metric tons of synthetic pesticides per hectare
Hectares under crop rotation, cover crop, intercropping and buffer zone
Number of trees planted
Expected to be available in October 2025
Water
n/a
n/a
n/a
Soil health
Improve soil health and manage erosion
Soil health Index 0-100
% organic matter per hectare
Biochar – volume produced, volume applied per hectare
Expected to be available in October 2025
Socio-economic impact
Improve livelihoods through increased financial stability
Yield increase (per hectare)
15-20% monitored yield increase

Endnotes

1 WWF (n.d.). Sustainable agriculture: Cotton. Retrieved from: https://www.worldwildlife.org/industries/cotton.

2 International Labour Organization (ILO) (n.d.). Green Jobs for Youth to Respond to the Refugee Crisis in Northern Côte d’Ivoire: Empowering women, young people and refugees through climate-smart jobs. Retrieved from: https://www.ilo.org/projects-and-partnerships/projects/green-jobs-for-youth-in-northern-cote-divoire.

3 International Labour Organization (ILO) (n.d.). Green Jobs for Youth to Respond to the Refugee Crisis in Northern Côte d’Ivoire: Empowering women, young people and refugees through climate-smart jobs. Retrieved from: https://www.ilo.org/projects-and-partnerships/projects/green-jobs-for-youth-in-northern-cote-divoire.

4 Better Cotton (2025). Better Cotton Project to Break Down Healthcare Barriers for Farmers in Côte d’Ivoire [Press Release]. Retrieved from: https://bettercotton.org/better-cotton-project-to-break-down-healthcare-barriers-for-farmers-in-cote-divoire/.

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