Kenya has the capacity to produce two hundred million kilos of cotton worth 7.5 trillion shillings if farming of the crop is improved in the country. This is according to the Agriculture Committee in the Senate Assembly when it visited Busia County to hold public participation on the Cotton Bill by nominated Senator Beth Syengo.
Cotton farmers say lack of appropriate seeds, poor market and the appropriate law for cotton farming in the country is the main reason for the decline of cotton farming in Kenya.
“We need a concerted effort to see farmers receive certified cotton seeds on time. Our main problem has always been lack of seeds,” one farmer said.
The farmers further complain about the porous Kenya-Uganda border which is adversely affecting their farming. They say cotton from the neighboring country is getting its easier way to the Kenyan market thus affecting cotton prices in Kenya.
According to Busia County Senator Okiya Omutata, many cotton farmers do not get the value of the crop due to a poor payment system. Omutata wants the government to ensure that there is a better environment for cotton farming so that farmers do not have a hard time.
The committee chairperson, Senator James Murango, who is also the Kirinyaga County Senator, Kenya currently produces only seven million kilos of cotton worth sixty billion shillings. Murango says the last time Kenya had a good cotton harvest was in 2012, but the following year after cotton farming was put under the Agriculture and Food Authority, AFA, cotton farming collapsed.
“There is a huge opportunity for our farmers to earn from cotton farming but they have always been affected by the poor market value of their produce. When cotton prices fluctuated many farmers opted out of cotton farming. Today Kenya imports cotton from our neighbors Uganda and Tanzania,” said Senator Murango.
The public participation was organized to discuss the Cotton Bill sponsored in the Senate by ODM-nominated Senator Beth Syengo, who is proposing the creation of a Cotton Board Of Kenya to manage and regulate cotton farming instead of AFA.
Cotton farming in the country has been on its deathbed for some time now, however, the national government is collaborating with County governments to see the farming revived. The Western region is the leading producer of the cash crop and experts believe cotton grown in this region has one of the best fiber content globally.
As one of the flagship projects of Busia County, the Busia County government is considering cotton farming as one of its major agricultural ventures. According to the Department of Agriculture in the County, apart from fiber production, the crop has also been grouped as an oil crop and animal feed crop which it believes if managed in the County, could be a game changer.
