WWF-India and Solidaridad Asia have launched a major regenerative farming initiative targeting India’s cotton farmers, aiming to bring 1 million hectares of cotton land under climate-resilient practices. The effort, called the Regenagri Fast Track Cotton Initiative (RFTCI), also seeks to mobilize €6 million in funding from the global fashion industry, private-sector partners and philanthropies.
Cotton is central to India’s economy as the country grows cotton on over 13 million hectares and produces around 29.5 million bales annually, contributing roughly 2.3% of national GDP.
But smallholder farmers—the backbone of India’s cotton landscape—are increasingly vulnerable to climate change and to traditional, resource-intensive agricultural practices.
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RFTCI aims to build a “globally significant supply of verified regenerative cotton” by scaling up practices such as intercropping, cover cropping, mulching, green manuring and agroforestry.
The initiative also has ambitious climate goals: it expects to sequester or avoid 1 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions while safeguarding biodiversity in cotton-growing regions.
Economically, the fund is designed to support 1 million smallholder farmers and workers, helping to improve their net income and strengthen their resilience to climate shocks.
On the market side, the initiative aims to channel 2 million tonnes of regenagri-verified cotton into global supply chains, helping move regenerative cotton from niche to mainstream.
“The RFTCI will focus on strengthening local institutions in regenerative cotton, creating opportunities for ecosystem services, generating value for smallholders and workers, and building market demand for regenagri-certified cotton,” said Shatadru Chattopadhyay, Managing Director of Solidaridad Asia.
WWF-India and Solidaridad have called on the fashion and textile industry, as well as aligned funders, to contribute to the fast-track fund. “The fast track fund will enable the fast track transformation,” said Murli Dhar, Director of WWF-India’s Sustainable Agriculture Program.
Franco Costantini, CEO of Regenagri, hailed the partnership as a powerful collaboration: “We celebrate Solidaridad and WWF’s commitment to making regenerative agriculture the norm for cotton grown in India … this collaboration highlights the power of cross-organisational work … during their collective transition to regenerative agriculture.”
By forging this initiative, WWF-India and Solidaridad hope not just to transform India’s cotton farming sector, but to build a replicable, scalable model that links ecological restoration, climate action and smallholder livelihoods.
