• Mukhwana said four more ginneries are under construction in Homa Bay, Baringo, Kwale and Lamu.
• Mukhwana said the government has increased the price of cotton from Sh52 to Sh72 per kilo, yet there was still great shortage of the crop.
Image: FILE
The government is distributing 17 tonnes of cotton seed to farmers in Busia county.
The distribution of cotton seeds is part of measures to implement the government strategy to revive the textile industry by availing enough raw materials.
Industrialisation PS Juma Mukhwana said on Wednesday the Sh45 million seeds will be enough to plant 13,000 acres, compared to 8,000 acres planted in the county last year.
He said the country was growing only 5,000 acres of cotton until 2022, but the acreage was increased to 40,000 last year.
“This year, our target is 103,000 acres countrywide and we have identified 24 counties across the country that are suitable for cotton production," he said.
Mukhwana said seeds have been distributed in Migori, Homa Bay and Siaya. The seeds were to be distributed in Bungoma on Thursday.
He spoke during the flagging off of the consignment at Busia Agricultural Training Centre on Wednesday.
Mukhwana said the government has imported 50 tonnes of cotton seeds from Togo. Another 200 tonnes are expected from Benin before the end of April.
“Our target for the next two years is to grow 300,000 acres across the country,” he said.
The PS said the government is also targeting Baringo, Elgeyo Marakwet, Kwale, Kilifi, Tana River, Lamu, Machakos, Makueni and Kitui.
He said four more ginneries are under construction in Homa Bay, Baringo, Kwale and Lamu.
Mukhwana said the government has increased the price of cotton from Sh52 to Sh72 per kilo, yet there was still great shortage of the crop.
“We encourage farmers to take this crop seriously,” he said.
Mukhwana said both the county and national governments have laid down structures required for cotton growing.
Busia agriculture executive George Mukok urged farmers to use the seeds appropriately.
He said the seeds will be distributed free to farmers beginning with the staff from the county government.
“Last year, we did a pilot and now we want to expand it across the county,” Mukok said.
He said the the county leadership has signed an agreement with Rivatex, which is pricing it at Sh72 per kilo instead of Sh52.
Mukok said the county managed to grow slightly more than 5,000 acres of the crop during the pilot period last year up from the 200 acres it used to handle previously.
“One of the major challenges has been the seeds and now that we have received them, we should focus on financing agriculture, mechanisation and linking farmers to the market,” he said
Seven point five tonnes of cotton seed has been availed to Busia, with the remaining consignment of 10 tonnes to be delivered within two weeks from Rivatex.