BASEL – A study of 355 cotton farms in Benin, West Africa, found that GHG emissions for organic cotton producers are significantly lower than for conventional cotton. However, the study also found that organic cotton producers are “environmentally inefficient” compared to their conventional counterparts. Data was collected from 355 cotton producers (180 organic and 175 conventional) randomly selected in the cotton belt of Northern Benin. It was found that the average cotton yield was 1127 kg per hectare – 1230.47 kg per hectare for conventional cotton and 924.27 kg per hectare for organic cotton – meaning the yield of conventional cotton was1.38 times higher than that of organic cotton. Meanwhile, the quantity of GHGs emitted by conventional cotton was found to be 882.06 kg CO2e per hectare compared to 462.65 kg CO2e per hectare for organic cotton, meaning organic cotton emits about 42 per cent less GHG than conventional cotton.
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