• Akajo said the county in collaboration with the national government should supply farmers with high-quality seeds and other farm inputs.
• He said extension officers should be deployed to the ground for sensitisation and capacity building of farmers.
An aspirant for the Karachuonyo parliamentary seat has asked the government to revive cotton farming in the constituency and parts of Homa Bay county.
Leonard Akajo appealed for support from both the national and county governments to revive cotton farming in Homa Bay.
He said there is a serious need to boost cotton farming for increased income among farmers in the region.
Akajo said for many years the crop used to thrive in Karachuonyo and supported the livelihoods of thousands of people directly and indirectly.
He said extension officers should be deployed to the ground for sensitisation and capacity building of farmers.
The cotton sector, he said, collapsed due to the influx of second-hand clothes into the country.
The influx also saw the collapse of the cotton ginneries across the country.
Among the ginneries which collapsed includes the Kisumu Cotton Mills and Ndere ginnery in Siaya county.
Akajo said the county in collaboration with the national government should supply farmers with high-quality seeds and other farm inputs.
“Our farmers need to be given the best quality and adequate cotton for processing at the ginneries,” he said.
Apart from Karachuonyo, cotton farming is done in Rangwe, Suba South, Homa Bay Town and Suba North constituencies.
The MP hopeful called on the government to regulate the importation of second-hand clothes as part of efforts to revitalise the cotton sub-sector.
Akajo has also urged farmers to embark on cotton production by forming cooperative unions and Saccos to increase their savings and marketing.
He advised farmers to put more effort into production such that when the government builds the new ginnery it operates at optimum levels.
Akajo noted that the lack of ginnery has over the years immensely contributed to poor cotton production in the area.
He commended farmers for their efforts to step up cotton production noting that the crop will boost the local economy.
“The hundreds of farmers should be supported immensely by providing them with seeds to promote production,” Akajo said.
Homa Bay is one of the counties that the national government has identified as areas where it wants to source cotton for its textile industries.
He said many cotton growers are considering maize, sorghum and other food crops as alternatives as they cannot afford non-subsidised cotton seeds. They say it’s expensive.
They are advised to purchase certified seeds, mainly Bt cotton that is resistant to pests and diseases and can do well in adverse weather conditions, from licensed distributors.
The subsidised seeds provided by the government are cheap and of high quality. The lack of subsidised seeds is also demotivating those yearning to join cotton farming, he said.
Homa Bay agriculture executive Aguko Juma said his department is working with the National Agricultural and Rural Inclusive Growth Project to provide farmers with subsidised seeds.
He said Narigp has allocated Sh9 million to support farming in the county.
“We’re trying to make sure cotton farmers plant their crops before the end of the long rains,” Juma said.