At Bharat Tex, India’s largest textile trade show, the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) and the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) have awarded women farmers for their commitment to sustainability and innovation.
The ‘Sustainability Champion’, ‘Innovation in Sustainable Cotton Cultivation’, and ‘Community Leadership and Peer Influence’ awards recognised and honoured the efforts of three women who have demonstrated the wide-ranging environmental, social, and economic benefits of more sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices. The awards were presented by the Indian Minister of State for Textiles, Shri Pabitra Margherita.
Jyoti Narain Kapoor, Director of BCI’s India programme, said: “Cotton is the backbone of India’s textile industry, and women are the backbone of Indian cotton farming. Cotton is often associated with high water use, pesticide dependence, and declining soil health, but that is only part of the story. Across India, farmers are showing that cotton can be grown more sustainably, and women are central to that progress.”
Preeti Shreedhar Dombe, who received the Sustainability Champion Award, has demonstrated the transformative potential of regenerative practices over five years. By switching to biological inputs, conserving water, and gradually improving soil health, she has created a blueprint for what regenerative and climate-resilient agriculture can look like.
Sushma Kiran Deshmukh was recognised with the Innovation in Sustainable Cotton Cultivation Award for her approach to farming, which includes the use of biological pest management and the application of compost containing worms and agricultural waste. These methods have helped Sushma improve soil health and yields, while also reducing costs.
Finally, Pooja Suryawanshi was chosen for the Community Leadership and Peer Influence Award for her work in the role of President of the Savitribai Self-Help Women Savings Group. Pooja has played a leading role in empowering rural women and helped launch and grow a women-led enterprise producing biological pest control products. Her leadership helped the group build farmer awareness, establish customer linkages, and promote eco-friendly alternatives to chemical pesticides.
Narain Kapoor added: “In what is the United Nations’ International Year of the Woman Farmer, it has been a privilege creating this platform to recognise all that these women and others like them continue to do to drive our industry into the future. Women who are progressive, who are ready to do things differently, to innovate, take risks, and support one another will carry this fire forward to their neighbours.”
