Farm Level Sustainable Cotton Supply Chain Management, an Empirical Study of Pakistan

Abstract

Cotton is a highly non-sustainable crop due to the requirement for substantial amounts of water and energy resources in the overall supply chain, from farm to finished product. There is a need to assess the sustainability of the cotton supply chain management system which may be achieved through more reasonable use of inputs and resources, hence lesser environmental impact, while maintaining sustained income for farmers. This research investigates the current status of sustainability in the farm level cotton supply chain and explores the influence of sustainability paradigms (economic, environmental and social) on farmers' supply chain management decisions. A survey was held (157 small and medium level cotton farmers) and data was analysed using the SPSS software with descriptive statistics of t-test, correlations and regression analysis. Results shown that small and medium level farmers are only focused on using less expensive inputs, with little concern for environmental and social matters.