Kitui Governor Julius Malombe on Wednesday said his government would seek ways to promote the cotton value chain through capacity building of cooperatives on governance and business skills.
He added that further support by his administration will go towards extension services to boost the sector that has seen Kitui ranked position 5 in the 2022 annual cotton production status countrywide.
Malombe made the remarks when he held discussions with officials of the Fibre Crops Directorate of the Agriculture and Food Authority led by by Grace Kyalo and Fanuel Lubanga on Wednesday.
The talks held at Malombe’s boardroom, were anchored on the fibre value chains for cotton and sisal.
The crops are key in the 24 ASAL counties among them Kitui, Siaya, Homa Bay, Lamu and Meru.
Lubanga said farmers in the cotton sector are scattered and unorganised in their production.
He said they are not even affiliated to producer groups such as cooperative societies thus the need for capacity building to enhance structured and gainful productivity.
Kyalo lamented that the collapse of the vertically integrated system for input supply including seeds, ginning, extension and seed cotton buying and the falling world prices, has had a negative impact on cotton production.
She said the adverse issues affecting cotton growing had consequently led to the abandoning of the growing of the crop by thousands of farmers.
Data shows that Kenya has an estimated 25,000 to 45,000 smallholder cotton farmers in more than half of the counties in any season.
The country has potential to increase production in terms of area and improved productivity.
Nationally, cotton is considered under the Vision 2030 industrialisation strategy and agriculture sector growth and transformation strategy.
The nationwide sale of seed cotton and lint in the year 2021 earned Sh255 million.
PS for Industry Dr Juma Mukhwana is set to tour the county for the launch of cotton seed distribution in October.