CODA launches project to revive Kenyan cotton sector

19 Sep '13

2 min read

The Cotton Development Authority of Kenya (CODA) has launched a project to revive the domestic cotton sector and estimates that cotton production in the country would rise to 19,980 tons in the next three years.

According to CODA, the projected production would be 260 percent more than the current national production level of only 5,550 tons, reports Kenyan newspaper Daily Nation.

The CODA has made plans to implement various measures through the project, including development of high yielding, pest resistant seed varieties, providing incentives for revival of ginneries, subsidizing seeds and fertilizers to draw in farmers into the sector, reviving local textile industries as well as engaging in wide extension services, to develop the sector.

According to the authority, one of the main issues faced by the cotton sector is the lack of proper technology in many of the cotton ginneries which increases the cost of ginned cotton by 40 percent.

However, some of the cotton ginneries in the country have upgraded their machines. Some investors, including the proprietor of Makueni Ginneries, were beneficiaries of the World Bank’s matching grant that enabled cotton ginneries in the country to acquire new machines to enhance efficiency.

The Makueni Ginneries recently re-launched cotton farming in conjunction with the Kenya markets trust, a non-profit organization, and with support from the CODA.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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