• The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and ICAC will collaborate on a Virtual Reality Cotton Training Programme
  
• The programme will allow farmers, cotton scientists and researchers to visit a virtual cotton field and learn best practices of integrated pest management and sustainable cotton production strategies derived from all over the world
  
• Attendees at the launch of World Cotton Day on 7 October in Geneva will have the opportunity to demo the technology on-site
  
• The first videos are already being filmed in cotton fields
  

The ICAC is already in the field with a professional camera crew, shooting the initial footage. When fully developed, the VR Cotton Training Program will consist of two modules that will: 

• Allow farmers anywhere in the world — whether in a classroom or in the field — to understand the cotton ecosystem comprising a variety of insect pests, diseases and beneficial insects, as well incorporate the very latest integrated pest management practices.
  
• Lead farmers and researchers through all the development stages of the cotton crop and highlight globally acknowledged sustainable best management practices to optimise natural resources and inputs to obtain high yields and increased profits, especially on smallholder farms.
  

‘ICAC has positioned itself firmly at the forefront of the technology movement, developing innovative new solutions to problems that have challenged the industry for decades’, said ICAC Executive Director Kai Hughes. ‘With the support of BMZ and GIZ, we’ll be developing this exciting new innovation that — due to the enormous amount of knowledge that can be transferred in a very short period of time — will help transform the way farmers grow cotton, often in some of the least-developed places on earth. Of course, VR will never replace real field trips and travels — nor should it — but it does enable people to have experiences that would otherwise be impossible’.