Revive cotton farming to create employment

There comes a time in the life of a nation when it must accept that it took a wrong turning and begin to retrace its steps.

Margaret Chemengich, former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Trade reminded the country, earlier this week, that the textile and clothing industry was at one time the second largest employer after the Civil Service when the country was producing over 70,000 bales for the local market and employing over 200,000.

Today, despite the country having an estimated potential of 350,000 hectares which are suitable for rain-fed cotton production and can add another 35,000 hectares through irrigation, only 35,927 hectares are under cotton, producing 24,975 metric tonnes of seed cotton annually.

This production meets only seven per cent of the country’s needs with the balance being met by imports. Time has, surely, come when the Government should initiate steps that raise the farmers’ standard of living while creating employment — about 600,000 jobs — and conserving the foreign exchange for imports the country does not and cannot produce locally.

As the largest buyer of garments and linen used to make uniforms for the armed forces and other public officials, the Government can support the local textile industry by procuring these items from Kenya-based firms who buy raw materials locally. The Government can go further and procure sheets, linen and towels for hospitals and hotels from the same local companies.

Increased cotton production would go a long way in meeting the criteria set by the United States for the extension of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act trading arrangement that anchors the country’s Export Processing Zones (EPZs).

It is unfortunate that most of the factories in these zones do not benefit the country as they were expected to, because they import raw materials from South-East Asia and China, countries Kenya competes with in the American market. 

But Kenya can turn the tables by producing its raw materials. An additional benefit of promoting local cotton production is that producers of animal feeds would have a ready and cheaper source of cotton seed cakes for use in their factories.

Currently, animal feeds producers have to import the same from Uganda and Tanzania . The result of these imports is that the price of animal feeds has been climbing steadily pushing up the cost of production for milk and beef.