BCI partners with AI-powered Avalo to develop climate-resilient cotton

The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) has partnered with AI-powered agriculture solutions firm Avalo to speed up the breeding of plants with climate-resilient traits. 

Avalo’s platform aims to revolutionize plant breeding for crops, including cotton, by developing seeds through AI-assisted breeding that require less water and fertiliser to grow. 

The company says it can reduce the amount of time it takes to develop new, locally adapted crop varieties by creating new plants with their own genetics, thereby allowing farmers and producers to adapt faster to climate change.

BCI and Avalo have already enrolled a number of new producers for 2026, testing an online platform to be used across multiple programmes that will collect data. As cotton prices continue to drop and input costs increase, plant varieties that require less water and fertiliser make both an environmental and financial case for producers. 

“At Avalo, we work across data, agronomy and genetics to help farmers grow cotton that’s better for their land and their livelihoods, and partnering with the Better Cotton Initiative lets us bring that work directly to more growers, at scale,” said Tricia Carey, Avalo’s Chief Commercial Officer, in a statement. “Together, we can lower the impact of cotton production while strengthening the resilience and profitability of the farmers at the heart of it.”

Approximately two-thirds of Avalo’s cotton sold went to brands committed to regenerative farming, reports the company, with both the data and farmer equity aspects appealing to brands as well. 

“If this works, it will save us,” commented Todd Straley, CEO at Quarterway, BCI Group Manager and cotton farmer, in a statement. “With limited water and more intense heat on the Texas High Plains, breeding for more extreme conditions is the only way growing cotton in our region will remain viable for farming families. By partnering with Avalo and BCI, our organisations work toward a common goal of ensuring the resilience of Texas High Plains cotton.”

BCI-certified farms in the Texas High Plains and programme partner Quarterway Cotton Growers have both begun contracting to grow its varieties. 

The new partnership comes as US cotton traded below the cost of production for three consecutive seasons, with input costs more than 30 percent above costs in 2018, according to data from the National Cotton Council. In turn, this has pushed US growers to reduce planting intentions for 2026 by 3.2 percent, according to a report from Farm Progress by Informa, meaning varieties that need less water and fertiliser are one of the few appealing alternatives for many.