• CS says each plot of land will be used for training at least 100 farmers interested in Bt cotton farming.
• Kenya joins six other African nations to take up Bt cotton including South Africa, Sudan, Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria and Swaziland.
Image: EMOJONG OSERE
Image: COURTESY
Sixty out of the 1,000 demonstration farms to help roll out the cultivation of genetically modified Bt cotton will be in Busia.
The remaining 940 farms will be spread across the other 22 cotton-growing counties.
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya said on Monday that the farms will act as tools for offering extension services where each plot of land will be used for training at least 100 interested farmers.
Munya was presiding over the launch of Bt cotton in Busia.
He said Busia plays a crucial role in supporting the adoption of the cotton breed expected to revitalise the collapsed apparel industry.
“Farmers should take advantage of Bt cotton which matures faster than other varieties. It is resistant to pests such as bollworms,” he said.
“We have launched this project in Busia because this county and the cluster of counties in the lake region hold the most promising potential for cotton growing.”
The CS said the global experience indicates that the improved variety is a viable intervention to help increase cotton production by addressing the challenges caused by pests and diseases.
He said Kenya joins six other African nations to take up Bt cotton including South Africa, Sudan, Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria and Swaziland.
“This is ample evidence that the continent is slowly picking the pace in the adoption of this modern cotton farming technology,” Munya said.
Bt cotton adoption was approved by the government during a Cabinet meeting chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta last year on December 19.
It is expected to support the government's Big Four agenda by aiding industrialisation.
Bt cotton is a high-yielding variety and an insect-resistant transgenic crop designed to combat the bollworm.
The commercial farming of the plant is projected to ensure farmers earn more from the crop through increased production.
It is currently planted in 15 countries globally covering an area of 24.1 million hectares. The top three leading producers are India (11.6 million hectares), USA (5.06 million hectares) and China (2.93 million hectares).
Other leaders present during the launch included Devolution CS Eugene Wamalwa, Governor Sospeter Ojaamong and Woman Representative Florence Mutua.
MPs Oku Kaunya (Teso North), Wilberforce Mudenyo (Funyula), Cooperatives PS Ali Noor, Agriculture PS Hamadi Boga and county commissioner Joseph Kanyiri were also present.
Wamalwa said investment in the cotton variety will help revive cotton farming “which will make the Big Four agenda succeed”.
Ojaamong appealed for more funding from the national government to finance research in cotton-growing so more regions in the country adopt its cultivation.
The approval for commercial farming of Bt cotton hybrids gave Ojaamong's administration the green light to commence the growth of the crop which had undergone trials at the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation for more than five years.
Mutua said the introduction of Bt cotton signified the government’s commitment to revive the cotton and textile sector that have been dormant for decades. The new cotton, she said, will help farmers cash in and improve their livelihoods.
Bt cotton’s unveiling came after the government announced plans to revive dormant textile mills in a Sh1 billion boost that is also projected to recover Kisumu Cotton Mills (Kicomi).
The government says bringing back of the mills to life can help generate more than 7,000 direct jobs.
Last year in July, the government said if it succeeds in activating operations at Rivatex in Eldoret, Kicomi in Kisumu and at Nanyuki-based Mount Kenya Textiles (Mountex), this would bring on board at least 1.3 million Kenyans engaged in direct cotton cultivation as well as value addition.
Kenya has the capacity to produce over 260,000 bales of cotton annually, but currently produces only 28,000 bales, industry data shows.
The country produces only 572 kilos per hectare against a possible 2,500 kilos per hectare.
Among the issues that have hurt the production of the fibre crop include soil depletion, low income for smallholder farmers and continued use of inappropriate pesticides and fertilisers.
Edited by R.Wamochie