Boost for farmers as investors insist on using locally grown cotton

Kenya is under pressure to increase cotton production to meet demand from potential textile industry investors, who are insisting on using local cotton.

Fibre Crops Directorate interim head, Mr Anthony Mureithi, said the country would turn to irrigation in order to meet the rising demand for cotton.

The directorate has identified Lamu, Makueni, Tharaka Nithi, and Kitui counties as potential areas to roll out irrigation farming.

SECTOR DEMAND

Last year, Kenya produced 27,000 bales of cotton against the 110,000 bales needed to meet sector demand. The poor harvest was blamed on drought.

“Potential investors in textile industry are insisting on local cotton and we have to increase production in a sustainable way. That is why we are exploring irrigation farming,” Mr Mureithi said.

The Industrialisation and Enterprise Development Cabinet secretary, Mr Adan Mohammed, has said the government intends to set up textile cities, but this could be hurt by poor cotton production in the country.

Global apparel maker, Jiangsu Lianfa Textile Company of China, has expressed interest in setting base at Menengai in Nakuru. The firm says the plant would employ 30,000 people.

CERTIFIED SEEDS

This year’s budget has identified textile and leather as key drivers of the economy and allocated Sh3 billion to them in a bid to create jobs and boost exports.

“Cotton production has gone down due to drought which set in just when the crop was about to form balls,” Mr Mureithi noted.

He said cooperative ginneries in Siaya and Nyanza would be revived while certified seeds would be provided to farmers in a bid to revive cotton growing.

“We will sign an agreement with the Kenya Seed Company next week on production of certified seeds for farmers on a 300-acre farm. This is expected to solve the problem of inadequate seeds,” he said.

To boost the sector, the government amended public procurement and disposal regulations. Under the new regulations, state institutions are required to give local textile products priority over imports.

INCREASE PRODUCTION

However, experts say cotton farmers need to increase production for the industry to service the tenders.

The Fibre crops Directorate has been pushing for government institutions to buy locally made textile products as a first step to creating a stable market for the fledgling industry.

“The problem in the textile industry is not about prices but the policy. We’re competing with countries that are offering subsidies to their farmers and others have guaranteed minimum returns,” said a source in the Ministry of Industrialisation.