Rizq will serve as an agronomic partner during the initial phase of the cotton season and provide regenerative practices and data collection training to 500 cotton farmers from Pakistan. Later, Rizq will establish a for-profit entity to become an official grower partner within Sourcery's Direct-to-Grower Programme.

The initiative, which is called the Impact and Assurance Programme is said to offer transparency and trust through region-specific verified primary data collected for each enrolled grower.

The free Sourcery Connect app which serves as the digital backbone of the programme, claims to empower growers to demonstrate their “commercial and environmental excellence” while receiving financial compensation for sharing their data.

This initiative is aimed at addressing challenges such as limited access to smartphones among farmers, while simultaneously facilitating the collection of baseline data crucial for developing tailored solutions.

Qasim Javaid, CEO and co-Founder of Rizq said: “Sourcery's expertise in fostering transparent, and fair transactions aligns seamlessly with Rizq's strength in cultivating a robust network of smallholder farmers. This data-driven collaboration circles back, creating enhanced livelihood opportunities for millions of small farmers, ensuring equitable value chains.”

The partnership can be traced back to Sourcery's donation collections during Pakistan's 2022 floods. Recognising the need for a trusted partner committed to transparency and impact, Sourcery reallocated funds originally intended for another organisation to support the Rizq project.

Sourcery explained that it wanted to "establish a regenerative cotton programme in Pakistan that would support growers in rebuilding and sustaining their livelihoods in this climate-changing world".

Sourcery's donated funds covered the enrolment fees for the 500 farmers into the Direct-to-Grower Programme.

Imran Asghar, managing director of South Asia and co-founder of Sourcery, emphasised the shared values driving this collaboration, stating: “Rizq is following a progressive vision and is aligned with our values as they are dedicated to creating for-profit social enterprises which will create commercial value so that farmers can sustain themselves through their agriculture.

“We believe that this partnership holds great potential for both our organisations and the farming communities in Pakistan. Together, we can make a significant impact on sustainable farming practices and the future of farmers.”

Better Cotton Pakistan inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) recently to enhance the adoption of Better Cotton’s traceability and Chain of Custody Standard practices across the region.