Cotton Farmers in Madhya Pradesh Put Labour Rights and Community Care in Focus

Representatives of trade unions, the cotton industry, civil society organizations and cotton-growing communities met in Indore on 25 August 2026 to review the project’s progress, challenges and lessons.

For cotton-growing families in Madhya Pradesh, the pressures of farming extend beyond the field, from finding affordable labour to managing care responsibilities that leave little time for training or other work. Partners of the International Labour Organization's (ILO) RISE for Impact project have agreed on measures to bring labour rights closer to these communities, strengthen connections with government services and build local support systems that can continue beyond individual project activities.

Representatives of trade unions, the cotton industry, civil society organizations and cotton-growing communities met in Indore on 25 August 2026 to review the project's progress, challenges and lessons. Their discussions focused on making fundamental principles and rights at work part of everyday rural life through stronger coordination, repeated community-level awareness activities and clearer responsibilities for participating organizations.

Small Landholdings Leave Families Carrying the Work

A joint report by the ILO and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University of Social Sciences (BRAUSS), launched at the event, drew attention to farmers whose extremely small holdings leave them heavily dependent on their own labour or that of family members. Titled Socio-economic assessment of the cotton growing community in Madhya Pradesh, the study describes these farmers as "cultilabourers" and highlights how the fragmentation of agricultural land can contribute to labour vulnerabilities.

Participants described gaps in government and institutional reach across remote areas, difficulties serving geographically scattered communities, seasonal migration and limited youth participation in agriculture and skills programmes. Partners identified the need to use evidence to locate gaps in support and give greater attention to the root causes of migration and child labour. Insaf Nizam, the ILO's Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work Specialist in India, connected the organization's global work with national, state and community interventions, stressing that cooperation between stakeholders is essential to bringing labour rights into the rural sector.

Farmers Explain the Pressures Behind Rural Livelihoods

More than 100 farmers joined a field-level workshop in Ratlam on 26 August, organized by the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) and its subsidiary, the Cotton Development and Research Association (CITI-CDRA). Cotton farmers, farmer producer organizations, self-help groups and prospective entrepreneurs from the project's focus districts discussed labour shortages, the inability of some small farmers to pay for hired workers and the limited interest that educated young people show in farming.

Women farmers' experiences brought another concern into focus: the combined demands of paid work and unpaid responsibilities can prevent them from attending training opportunities. The workshop gave participants information about labour laws, grievance mechanisms, agricultural and rural finance, and government programmes, alongside opportunities to work with agricultural institutions and government departments. These discussions connected the wider conversation about rights with the practical difficulties farmers face in keeping their farms and households running.

Community Care and Local Partnerships Shape the Next Steps

Participants explored "care cooperatives" as community-based, member-owned enterprises that could meet unmet care needs, create livelihood opportunities and give workers and residents a greater say in how services operate. Bharti Birla, the ILO's Enterprise Development Specialist in India, stressed the need for affordable, high-quality care where public infrastructure is limited, explaining that community models can formalize and professionalize informal care work, improve wages and benefits, and give workers a democratic voice in their working conditions.

Stakeholders agreed to pilot ILO-promoted initiatives for member-owned enterprises to improve working conditions, create sustainable jobs and address community care needs. Partners committed to mapping organizations by geographical reach and expertise, strengthening referral and coordination systems, sharing training materials and innovations, and establishing minimum responsibilities to sustain the project's achievements. Stronger relationships among local leaders, unions, community organizations and government institutions are intended to turn awareness into locally owned support, giving cotton-growing families clearer routes to services and help when problems arise.