Track: Supply Chain Management (SCM)

Abstract

In agricultural products, cotton is a cash crop for farmers. Cotton is environmentally a highly sensitive crop and is under risk from the effects of global warming and the intensive use of synthetic inputs. Due to global warming and climate change, the production of cotton is shrinking in the world’s largest cotton producing countries such as China, India, USA and Pakistan. In the overall cotton supply chain management (CSCM) system, immediate sustainable measures are required for protecting the textile industry and the livelihoods of cotton industry stakeholders. Based on a thorough review of the literature, a cotton supply chain management cycle at both the farm level, and the industry overall, was developed in this study. A sustainable Cotton Supply Chain Management Framework (CSCMF) is developed in this study for farm level production by identifying the Critical Success Factors (CSF’s) in the literature review, with subsequent interviews with six technical experts who were experienced in small, medium, and large farming enterprises, categorised under the headings of sustainability, supply chain management and cotton farming. The CSFs identified were classified in terms of cotton supply chain management under the three sustainability pillars of social, economic and environmental sustainability. This CSCM Framework will be useful to inform the future development of sustainability policies, and the assessment of farmers’ behavior, regarding sustainable practices.