The deal includes the technology and team behind Co:Farm, which it intends to use to collect and manage field-level information as it moves to operate as a regenerative standard system.
Co:Farm leverages AI to assist farmers in adopting regenerative agricultural practices by providing guidance, centralising data collection, and helping optimise farm-level operations.
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For organisations working on the ground, the platform offers dashboards that build transparency and track regional progress over time.
BCI said integrating Co:Farm would allow the group to expand the platform’s reach from Materra’s initial 10,000 engaged farmers to over 1.3 million now aligned to BCI’s framework.
The organisation plans to implement Co:Farm for the 2027-28 cotton season and will present a detailed roadmap for the platform at its conference in Marrakech, Morocco, in January.
BCI chief executive officer, Nick Weatherill said: “Co:Farm will manage BCI’s field intelligence, enabling efficient digital data collection at farm level and delivering high-quality validated impact data, actionable insights, greater integrity controls and feedback loops to drive continuous improvement.
“By bringing tried-and-tested field technologies and specialised tech expertise in-house, BCI will strengthen its digital capabilities, easing the administrative burden on farmers and making it simpler for retailers to source BCI cotton backed by credible impact data.”
The acquisition of Co:Farm coincides with BCI’s transition to a regenerative standard system.
The organisation said the changes are intended to support the adoption of locally relevant regenerative farming practices, alongside more consistent measurement of environmental and social outcomes.
BCI said more than 20% of global cotton production is aligned with its standard.
Its updated Principles and Criteria require BCI Farmers to adopt regenerative practices suited to local conditions and set continuous-improvement targets across environmental and social indicators.
The organisation has also changed its approach to farm-level investment, capacity strengthening, assurance, impact measurement and member claims.
The regenerative standard system introduces revised requirements for farmers, capacity-building measures and changes to impact measurement.
BCI said the framework is intended to help retailers, brands and suppliers establish regenerative sourcing targets, while its traceability programme allows product-level claims.
Nick Weatherill said: “Our transition to a regenerative standard system is about unlocking a triple win for nature, farmers and industry. When nature thrives, farmers thrive. And when retailers and brands support those conditions through their sourcing and investment, they help build more resilient supply chains and future-proof the supply of cotton.”
