Agribusiness: Lamu farmers make fortune from GMO cotton

Despite severe drought in much of the country for four years, cotton farmers in Lamu county have had a bounty harvest.

But this was not until 2020 when farmers who had previously abandoned cotton due to low yields and poor prices, started growing Bt cotton, a genetically modified variety.

The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation says Bt cotton has been genetically improved to resist the African bollworm, which is the most destructive cotton pest.

In 2019, Bt cotton became the first biotech crop to be grown in Kenya after Cabinet approved commercial cultivation.

The Cabinet said the move was aimed at increasing textile and apparel manufacturing, and eventually reviving the cotton industry.

In March 2020, the government provided free Bt cotton seeds to farmers though there were reservations by some farmers.

But those determined to get into cotton farming now are laughing all the way to the bank.

Susan Karani from Hongwe moved to Lamu from Mwea in Kirinyaga county in 1985 and started growing cotton on two acres.

At first, Karani says the crop was doing well but by 2012, production and prices went down. Many farmers abandoned the crop and this led to collapse of the industry.

“From one acre, I could hardly get 100 kilos. In 2013, I stopped growing cotton and instead planted mangoes, lemon and coconut,” she says.

She says in the first harvest between September to November 2022, she harvested one and half tons of cotton from the two acres.

In the second harvest from February to March, she harvested one tonne from the same area.

“I do not remember the last time I got such a bumper harvest from cotton. With the money  from the harvest, I was able to visit my mother in Kirinyaga after a long time. I did some shopping, bought her a dress and I even gave her some little pocket money. This is all thanks to Bt cotton,” she says.

“I urge those farmers that are yet to embrace Bt cotton to do so because one is guaranteed to make good money and there is no doubt about that,” Karani says.

Pauline Nduku from Mpeketoni has been a cotton farmer for more than 15 years.

She says she used to plant the old cotton varieties which were low yield, low quality and fetched poor prices.

“In the end, cotton farming became expensive for me since the cost of production was high yet the yields were low. But things have changed after I started growing GM [genetically modified] cotton, which is high yield.

"You don't have to spray many times unlike the conventional cotton varieties. This has reduced the cost of production and has put money in my pocket,” Nduku says.  

She used to harvest about 300 kilos from one acre but early this year, Nduku harvested more than 1,000 kgs (one tonne).

The cost of buying farm inputs has declined and she has been able to increase the acreage under cultivation from two to seven acres.

"Bt cotton is cost efficient because, for instance, you only need to spray herbicides like three times then you can harvest. You had to spray the old varieties at least nine times, which was harmful to me."

Simon Muguru from Tewe sublocation, Mpeketoni division, started farming in 1987. He has been growing maize, green grams, cowpeas and cotton.

“Cotton framing had many challenges, including poor rains, poor quality of seeds. Many of the farmers were using seeds that our parents had been using since 1975. I could harvest 200kg to 300kg from an acre and after a while I got tired of growing cotton and shifted to maize farming,” he says.

It was not until 2021 that Muguru got into cotton farming again. This time, he started growing Bt cotton on five-acre land and he was able to harvest five tonnes.

In 2022, he expanded to 15 acres and he harvested 16 tonnes. He said the prices have also increased from Sh8 to Sh10/kg a decade ago to the current Sh52 / kilo.

Muguru says farmers have been selling their cotton produce to the Lake Kenyatta Farmers’ Cooperative Society.

“The cooperative really helped us and besides buying the produce from farmers, they also give us seeds which are expensive and many farmers cannot afford them. We are also supplied with herbicides,” he says.

Of 5,000 cotton farmers in the area, only 2,000 are growing Bt cotton. 

“With the high yields that we have seen, I believe going forward, more farmers will come on board and this will help increase production,” Muguru says.

He urged the Government to support cotton farmers in getting cheap fertiliser and in increasing the prices.

“Cotton farming is at its peak in Lamu county and farmers are able to have a quality and quantity harvest. This will improve Lamu's economy. We urge the government to building a ginnery tocreate job opportunities and reduce the transportation cost of taking  produce to as far as Thika and Kitui,” Muguru said.

Peter King’oo the manager of Makueni Ginneries Limited, said out of the 24 ginneries registered by the Cotton Board of Kenya, only four are operational. They include Makueni, Kitui, Meru and Salawa ginneries.

Makueni Ginneries is located in Wote town, Makueni county, which is about 600km from Lamu county.

He says they buy from farmers across the country but Lamu is more preferred due to its high production of cotton compared to other counties such as Homa Bay, Siaya, Busia, Makueni, Machakos, Kilifi, Kwale and Tana River.

In 2021, cotton production was low due to drought and the ginnery was only able to get about 75,000 kgs from farmers . But in 2022, farmers from Mpeketoni alone had produced almost two million kilograms.

King'oo says cotton farmers from Lamu have received more than Sh110 million from the sale of cotton from the few ginneries that buy the produce.

“We advise farmers to plant more. Cotton is a cash crop and in order to end hunger in our country we have to have a crop that helps farmers to cater for their needs,” he says. 

King’oo notes that there is a long value chain in cotton farming, including the farmer, ginner, spinner and apparel manufacturers.

“There are a few challenges in the value chain such as delayed payments which trickle down to the farmer. For instance, a ginnery may make payments to the farmers on time but when we sell to the spinners they may not pay us when they themselves haven't been paid,"  he said.

"So then the chain goes backwards up to the farmer."

(Edited by V. Graham)