Kenya to build a Sh70-million ginnery in Kwale

02 Sep '20

2 min read

Pic: Shutterstock

Kenya will build a Sh70-million ginnery in the Kinondo area of Msambweni sub-county in Kwale, whose governor Salim Mvurya recently announced that land has already been set aside for the project. He thanked President Uhuru Kenyatta for choosing Kwale to be among the five counties with immense potential in cotton production, where ginneries will be built as part of a programme to revive the sector.

He said Kwale-based Australian mining firm Base Titanium has agreed to construct the ginnery at the PAVI Business Park in Kinondo. Mvurya recently received a delegation from the ministry of industry, trade and cooperatives.

The aim is to change the textile chain and increase the percentage of manufacturing in the gross domestic product from 9 per cent to more than 15 per cent under the Pamba na Viazi (PAVI) cotton radicalisation programme and increase cotton production from 29,000 to 65,000 bales annually. Rivatex will buy all cotton from farmers, according to Kenyan media reports.

PAVI Cooperative, supported by Base Titanium, has been instrumental in the revival of the cotton sector in Kwale by supporting local farmers to plant cotton on their farms.

The programme, which started with 100 farmers in 2015, has since grown to include 2,500 farmers cultivating 1,500 acres of cotton on their farms. Base Titanium hopes to expand the Kwale Cotton Programme to 10,000 farmers in the future.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

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