ESA & GOTS Collaborate with AI Company Marple to Monitor Cotton Certification in India using Satellite Imagery

European Space Agency (ESA) and Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) have teamed up for an innovative project that aims to monitor cotton certification in India using satellite images and artificial intelligence (AI). This collaboration, in conjunction with AI company Marple, will leverage ESA's satellite data and train AI models to identify and classify cotton fields in India based on cultivation standards.

Guillaume Prigent, Business Development and Partnerships Officer at ESA, emphasized that the initiative, operating under ESA's Business Applications and Space Solutions programme, demonstrated the potential of space solutions to make a positive impact on the world. He stated that the project highlighted how space solutions could have a positive impact on the world and that it was the kind of innovation that ESA supported through its Business Applications and Space Solutions programme.

The project aims to support GOTS in accurately estimating organic cotton yields in specific regions by incorporating standardized yield metrics. GOTS, an alliance consisting of the Organic Trade Association (US), the Internationaler Verband der Naturtextilwirtschaft (Germany), The Soil Association (U.K.), and the Japan Organic Cotton Association (Japan), brings together the textile and organic industries to promote organic textiles.

By identifying cotton fields that meet predetermined standards and supporting those with the potential for a smooth transition to organic cultivation, the initiative aims to strengthen the integrity of organic cotton and prevent fraud across the supply chain. It will also create economic opportunities for small-scale farmers and their communities, as well as meet the growing consumer demand for organic cotton within the textile industry.

The project has already undergone a successful pilot run in Uzbekistan, one of the world's leading cotton producers, in 2021. The pilot project demonstrated an impressive 98% accuracy in distinguishing between organic cotton fields and conventional ones.

Building on this success, the project will be implemented across various cotton-growing regions in India, where organic cotton production plays a significant role. The initial results are expected to be available by late 2023.