The 1998-2003 strategic plan of the Cotton Research and Development Corporation (CRDC) set

research goals in three main areas: (i) sustainability, (ii) profitability and competitiveness and (iii)

people and communities. This study contributes to the last of these areas by developing a framework

for monitoring the socio-economic impacts of the cotton industry on people and communities in the

cotton growing regions. The specific aims of the study are to:

1. identify long term trends in the cotton industry that are likely to show socio-economic impacts in

the cotton growing regions,

2. identify the main linkages between the cotton industry and the regional economies in the cotton

growing regions,

3. gain an appreciation of the socio-economic impacts that are currently being experienced in the

cotton growing regions due to changes in the industry, and

4. identify the important socio-economic impacts that the industry will need to monitor in the medium

term, and propose appropriate socio-economic indicators to do this.

Pressures on the Industry

The cotton industry faces global competitive pressures as do many other primary industries. Within

Australia, cotton production appears to be stabilising in some regions, such as the Gwydir and Namoi

valleys, while it continues to increase in others. Cotton research and development has played an

important role in the introduction of new transgenic cotton varieties, the steady increases in yields and

the improvements in management that are underpinning productivity growth. Management is

becoming more knowledge-intensive, while the demand for spraying and chipping services is

decreasing. The availability of irrigation water will remain an important issue for the industry.

Growers have already made significant adjustments to improve water efficiency and this can be

expected to continue in the medium term. The economic and social changes occurring within regional

economies and communities can no longer be understood solely in terms of the changes occurring in

primary industries. This means that care has to be taken in identifying changes attributable to the

cotton industry. The causes of these changes are clearest where cotton dominates agricultural

production and the size of the non-farm economy is relatively small. In other areas, broader changes

in community aspirations, retailing and transport may result in social and economic impacts that

outweigh any effects of the cotton industry. Compared to most other agricultural industries, however,

the cotton industry with its input and knowledge intensiveness and local processing is more likely to

have impacts on regional economies.

The report provides a detailed description of a series of surveys and reviews, supported by basic

research, through which indicators in the areas above can be regularly measured.