Cotton revival in high gear: Farmers' fears, hopes, prayers

Farmers Jennifer Inamai (L) and Mary Odemba and (R) from Busia County are among farmers elated to get back to cotton growing as the industry's revival is spearheaded by the government and other private sector players [Gardy Chacha, Standard]

Uganda and Tanzania

"Today, about 80 per cent of our cotton is sourced locally," she says. "Demand remains high and we need more cotton farmers." Dodhia says it is better to source cotton locally because the quality of Kenyan cotton is good.

"Buying locally means we also save money that could have been used in cross-border transportation," she says.

With the dollar exchange rate unstable, it makes even more business sense for textile manufacturers to source their cotton locally.

So eager - for Kenyan cotton - is the company that it has resolved to entice reluctant farmers with free BT-Cotton seeds as well as pesticides.

"A kilo of BT-Cotton seeds is Sh3,500. An acre of land needs 1.5kg of seed. We are therefore spending just over Sh5,000 per acre," Dodhia says. Giving farmers seeds ensures that the textile manufacturer has raw materials to run on; reducing the need to import.

In September 2022, for the first time in over 25 years, LFCU ginnery roared back to life - thanks to a Sh30 million grant from the government.

Farmers, Naderia, Christian Small and Bennedict Bideru, are just a few among many who are savouring the return of cotton.

"The union is paying cotton farmers cash on delivery," says Bideru. "This for sure is exciting."

The government's cotton value chain development strategy seeks to revive the industry through farmer cooperatives.

Paying farmers

All cooperative unions we visited - including Kwale Pavi Farmers Cooperative Society (KPFCS) and Nambale Farmers Cooperative Union (NFCU) - are paying farmers cash on delivery.

"As the bank the cooperatives bank with, we give them Crop Advance: to enable them to pay the farmers upon delivery.

"This is critical for the revival of the industry because we don't want the farmers' having to wait for their produce to be sold before getting paid.

"We want them to feel confident that indeed their hard work pays as soon as they harvest. The bank is able to recoup its money once the cotton is sold," Kariuki says.

TCM manufactures uniforms, trousers, shirts, bedsheets, kitenge (colourful fabric), pillows and kikois (traditional fabric).

The Buy Kenya Build Kenya initiative has also seen the government give textile manufacturers business: to produce regalia for the armed forces.

A source at the Ministry of Agriculture informed Smart Harvest that the three textile mills in the country operating at about 50 per cent of their capacity.