The Indian Society for Cotton Improvement (ISCI) Mumbai, India in collaboration with International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC), Washington DC, ICAR-Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR), Nagpur, ICAR-Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology (CIRCOT), Mumbai and Indian Fibre Society, Mumbai is organizing the 9th Asian Cotton Research and Development Network (ACRDN) meeting and international conference at Mumbai, Maharashtra, India during Dec 06-08, 2023. This event heralds the inauguration of the centenary year celebrations of ICAR-CIRCOT and also commemorates the golden jubilee of ISCI. The theme of the international Conference is “Innovations for a Resilient and Sustainable Cotton Production and Viable Value Chain".
The Asian region is the most vibrant hub of cotton production, processing, consumption and trade. Four countries of the region- China, India, Pakistan & Uzbekistan together account for 56% of the world's cotton acreage and 51.4% of the production. Seven Asian nations viz., China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Uzbekistan and Indonesia together consume 80.6% of the total cotton produced in the world and convert them into value added products. China, Bangladesh, India & Vietnam, the largest Textile and Apparel exporting countries from Asia, along with Turkey account for 52% of the World T&A exports.
The cotton producing countries of the region face several common challenges, the foremost being climate change manifested through extreme heat waves and unpredicatable rainfall with increase in wet and dry spells. The torrential rain in August 2022 that damaged 80% of the cotton crop in Sindh Province of Pakistan is a grim reminder to the magnitude of climate crisis. Fluctuations in production, resurgence of pests and diseases, deterioration in soil health, challenges in mechanization and access to latest products and technologies, rising production costs and declining profits etc., are some major production releted challenges in the Asian region. On the processing front, issues of fibre quality, contamination, trash content, traceability, circularity and sustainability vis-a-vis synthetic fibres are major global concerns. Researchers are relentlessly addressing these challenges and have some exciting innovations to offer. The ACRDN provides a wonderful platform to meet and deliberate on these issues and evolve joint strategies to resolve for an improved cotton sector in the region.
The International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) established the Asian Cotton Research & Development Network (ACRDN) in 1999 to foster regional co-operation in Cotton Research among Asian countries. Till date, eight meetings of the network have been held in Pakistan (1999), Uzbekistan (2002), India (2005), China (2008), Pakistan (2011), Bangladesh (2014), India (2017), Uzbekistan (2019). There were several fruitful recommendations from these meetings. The Indian Society for Cotton Improvement, Mumbai, once again cordially invites you to the 9th meeting of ACRDN at Mumbai in India.
