- The county has over 10,000 cotton farmers.
- They want the Ministry of Agriculture to increase the market price of cotton.
Cotton farmers in Lamu are stuck with bags of the produce in their stores following a bumper harvest.
The county has over 10,000 cotton farmers. Major cotton producing areas in Lamu are Baharini, Uziwa, Tewe, Hongwe and Wetemere in Mpeketoni division as well as Hindi and Witu in Lamu West.
The crop is also grown on medium scale in Faza island in Lamu East.
The farmers have appealed to the county and national governments to intervene and help them access markets for their produce.
They also want the Ministry of Agriculture to increase the market price of cotton to enable them get maximum benefits.
Cotton farmer Muasya Kwaita from Mpeketoni revealed that this year’s harvest was exceptional compared to previous years.
Kwaita said their major concern is that without a proper market, middlemen will eventually come in exploit them.
“There are thousands of us with thousands of bags of cotton in our stores. We have nowhere to sell.We hope the governments intervene and we get to sell at better prices,” Kwaitab said.
Stakeholders say unpredictable markets is the major hurdle hindering the expansion of cotton farming.
Cotton farmer Hannah Wanjiru of Baharini said middlemen have always bought their cotton at ridiculously low prices, leaving them counting losses even after spending heavily on inputs.
“Growing cotton successfully up to the harvesting stage takes quite a lot in terms of money for pesticides and the rest. However, whatever we get as profit after sales is way lower compared to what we spent. It’s discouraging,” she said.
Lamu Cotton Farmers chairperson Joseph Migwi said thousands have quit farming.
“There are decade-long issues holding the sector hostage and they must be looked into and effectively addressed if the sector is to grow,” he said.
The farmers wondered why their counterparts in the coconut, cashew nut and livestock sectors have always received support from the government yet they aren’t accorded the same treatment.
Recently, the county government revealed plans to build a Sh100 million ginnery to revive the struggling cotton industry in Lamu.