A single, humble cotton crop, though small, carries the weight of the world. For Egypt, it has long been a source of pride and wealth, often dubbed its “white gold,” with exports increasing by 36.5 percent in 2023, reaching 1.5 million metric quintals compared to 1.1 million metric quintals in 2022. Yet, for farmers like Rabeha Al-Habashi, it represents so much more than just a crop; it is a family legacy, a passion, and a promise of growth. Al-Habashi, a cotton farmer from Samul village in El Gharbiya Governorate, typically takes about six months to grow and harvest her crop. However, due to the impacts of climate change and extreme heat, she lost years’ worth of productivity. The best way to describe the effects of climate change is that it feels like someone pressed a pause button on her life. Her struggles mirror a larger pattern for global agriculture, as research shows that climate change has erased roughly seven years of progress in agricultural productivity over the last six decades. After joining CottonConnect’s REEL Cotton Programme in 2023, she became a regenerative cotton farmer, using agricultural practices that improve soil…
