Cotton cropping in Peru is a thousand-year-old activity that goes back to ancient civilizations that developed in that region. Cotton has historically been an important source of resources for the Peruvian population and supplied raw material for the textile industry. They cultivate the long or extra-long fiber species Gossipium hirsutum and G. barbadense. National cotton production has been declining in recent years, with major social impact, as this crop is predominantly cultivated by family farmers in smallholdings. Peru has been importing a large amount of cotton to meet the national industry's demand.

This International Technical Cooperation project is trilaterally conducted by the Brazilian Government, the Peruvian Government, and FAO. The Brazilian Cotton Institute secured project funds. The goal is to collaborate with Peruvian institutions to raise small-scale cotton growers' productivity and income levels in order to improve their quality of life and food security, through actions such as support to the elaboration of public policy, government strategies and actions to increase small-scale cotton growers' competitiveness; dissemination of validated adapted technologies to improve Peruvian small-scale cotton growers' production systems; and implementation of a capacity-building program aimed at increasing Peruvian small-scale cotton growers' competitiveness.