ABSTRACT

Before a problem is solved, one must know the problem to be solved. In this Article, I will talk on Cotton and Cotton Coin tech and how it will change the Textile Industry and cotton farmers using the blockchain. Some of the questions this article will answer are:

1. Why does the cotton industry need blockchain and how can this industry benefit?
2. What are some of the problems Cotton Coin are trying to solve? And how do they want to achieve that?
3. How does it improve trust with consumers, retailers and authorities?
4. Please provide some interesting examples of Cotton Coin in action. What can be a use case to illustrate how poor cotton farmers be helped by blockchain technology and the Cotton Coin project?
5. What benefits can Cotton Coin bring to the world cotton industry specially the third world countries.
6. How the Cotton Coin introduce transparency and improve the supply chain in the cotton industry.
7. How the cotton coin can be used to bridge the gap between the buyer and the producer of cotton.
8. How can Cotton Coin be used to ensure that the cotton farmers and producers be paid the correct buy price and get paid in a timely manner.
9. In what ways can integrating the cotton supply line with blockchain technology impact the overall industry.

INTRODUCTION

What is the Cotton Coin tech?

Cotton Coin is an organization that will use the blockchain technology for medium of data transfer, interactions between users, transparency and secure way in the textile industries. This technology will enable instant P2P payment using the blockchain technology. It main features for operation are it decentralized application for the buyer to buyer and buyer to customer markets that will also enable numerous user friendly services that will teach and enlighten users about the price and information of cotton and the textile industries.

THE CURRENT SITUATION OF COTTON PRODUCTION

You might as well think that the subject matter is none of your concern. You might probably not be working in a textile industry neither are you a cotton farmer. But I would want you to know that Cotton is everywhere. It surrounds us daily. In our work place, buses, home, offices and even, cotton knows if you’ve had a shave or not. Although cotton is everywhere today, where did it start? How long have people weave it into garments and blankets and rappers? What are the current problems of the textile industries and farmers of cotton?

Source

BRIEF COTTON STATISTICS

According to statistics, the white gold as it is also known is the most often used natural fiber in textile industries worldwide. In 2017 over 100 million cotton bales were produced around the world’s cotton production. The United state, China and India are some of the largest producers of this product. The United State alone exported over 15 million bales of the total cotton exported around the world in 2017. Other top exporters of this product are Brazil, Australia, and India. Top importers include Bangladesh, Vietnam and China.

Source

In terms of Farming capacity of these countries, over 11 million acres of land was planted in the United States alone in the year 2017 with Texas leading in the cotton production.
Over the years, the price of cotton has either remain stable for a few years or drop or rise in others. In 2012, a heavy price decline hit the cotton price. For example, the average United State upland spot cotton price decreased from 133 to 74 U.S cents within a year.
Statistic Source

Source
Cotton: Natural Fibre

USES OF COTTON

The use of cotton as a farm produce is something we should be aware of. Cottons are used in almost every endeavor of our daily routine. Cotton is famous for its adaptability, performance and natural comfort it provides for humans. Cotton fiber can be woven or knitted into numerous fabrics products such as velvet, corduroy, velour and jerseys. Apart from the fabric use of cotton, it is use in textile products like underwear, socks and t-shirts. Cotton is also used in fishnets, coffee filters, book binding and archival paper. Cotton serves as a food and a fiber crop. Cotton seed is fed to cattle and crushed to make oil. This cottonseed oil is used for cooking and in products like soap, margarine, emulsifiers, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, rubber and plastics. Other products like the cotton Linters are also used to produce goods such as bandages, bank notes, cotton buds and Swabs.
From this outlined used above, it can be seen that the use of cotton in our society affects us in one way or the other.

Source

THE PROBLEM OF THE TEXTILE INDUSTRIES AND COTTON FARMERS (Negative Factors)

Over the years, there are factors that have affected the production of cotton as raw material of fabric products. These factors range from physical factors that affect the crop itself to psychological factors that affect the farmers. The physical factors has in one way or the other contributed more of the psychological effects on the farmers indirectly this is true because every farmer’s expectations is to have a better yield of his farm produce. Outlined below are some of the factors that have hindered the better development of the textile industries and the cotton farmers.

Farmers problem

1. Low cotton yields per hectare:: A better yield of the crop is low compare to the expected yield.


2. Quality of cotton produced:: Cotton is a white soft natural fiber. It is believe and expected to be white and a bit tough. Low quality of cotton are cotton produces with defects that are not within standard demanded for production of fabrics.


3. Pest:: One of the most disturbing factor to the production of cotton is Pest. According to statistics, Cotton pest damaged 10 percent of the total quantity of cotton produced in a year.


4. Fertilizer and good machinery availability:: Farmers also face the problem of fertilizers availability and good mechanism system to enhance better produce of the cash crop.

   [SOURCE: Journal of Agriculture and Social sciences BAKHSH et al. / J. Agri. Soc. Sci., Vol. 1, No. 4, 2005. Department of Environmental and Resource Economics, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan. page 334.]
   

5. Water:: Cultivation of Cotton takes a lot of water to maintain and survive. It is known that just 1kg of cotton takes up to 20,000litres of water. This quantity of cotton is for just the production of a trouser and a shirt. Imagine the quantity needed to produce cotton in abundant for just a West Africa country with population of 230 million citizens.


6. Poor quality input:: The use of poor quality inputs like seeds and pesticides results in low productivity of cotton.
7. Government policies:: On the production side government has a standing regulation that enforces the destruction of all cotton stocks by the end of the cotton growing season; this is a way of ensuring that the risk of disease and pests associated with cotton production is reduced. [Source: Economic Analysis Of Factors Affecting Cotton Production In Zimbabwe By Godfrey Mahofa, University Of Zimbabwe, July 2007]


8. Cotton Price::The price in which cotton is sold in the textile industries is also poor compare the efforts put in the cultivation of cotton.


9. Lack of loans or inadequate subsidies given farmers and corruption: Farmers have little to purchase better cotton seeds, fertilizers for cultivation. Even when these subsidy are given, the farmer in the field gets very little of the actual amount given to him because of corruption.


10. Delay of payment to farmers using Fiat currencies:: Most times, farmers experience delay in the payment (Using fait currencies; that is, local currencies) for the sale of the crop from their customers and industries who needed this product for fabric production.

Textile Industries problem

On the other hand, the textile industries also experience a couple of issues relating to the production of cotton. It can be well ascertained that Industries will be directly affected when farmers are affected in the production of the white gold.

COTTON COIN: WEAVING COTTON INTO THE BLOCKCHAIN COMMUNITY



Solving almost all the problems that befall the cotton farmers and the textile industries, Cotton Coin will use the blockchain technology to eradicate the industries’ dilemma. It creates a trusted transaction ledger that integrates consumers, supply chain participants and authorities in one ecosystem. It integrates a peer to peer payment system were farmers can carry out transactions using smart contracts without the involvement of fiat currencies and intermediary like local banks and centralized organizations.


Why the Blockchain?


A blockchain is a secure digital ledger that enables companies to transfer assets across the internet with increased speed and reduced interference. Blockchain tech can create digital report that verify tracks and traces each step of the procedure without the need of software Application.
Combined with "Smart contracts," it has powerful implications for global trade with cross-border settlement and immediate transfer of currency or other assets.
Because blockchain technology benefits from a network effect, whereby a service becomes more valuable the more membership it has, the cotton industry is being urged to sign up as a conglomerate members, helping to put together a single, shared blockchain to record, track, trade all of the world's cotton markets in real-time.
In Summary, the Cotton coin needs the blockchain technology because it will enhance the following solutions to the industries problems:
1. Instant Payment System
2. Versatile Traceability System and a lot more.

THE COTTON COIN BLOCKCHAIN TECH AND THE COTTON COIN TOKEN


Using the blockchain, the cotton coin will enhance Token Transaction Ledger using the cotton coin token as a value in which other cryptocurrencies can be converted to. Instead of paying cotton farmers in fait currencies and using third party intermediaries, Cotton coin will use the cotton token in making all transactions on the blockchain ecosystem.


The token will enhance security of data as transactions and every other form of cotton related issues will be stored in a private blockchain.

TEAM


Below is the team behind the cotton coin tech. The team are a group of individuals who are experienced and educated in the field.






For More information about Cotton Coin,

You can visit the Cotton Coin Website.
Or the Cotton Coin Cotton Coin White paper.

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Thank you for Reading this Article.