Cotton yield is likely to drop next year unless the government intervenes by ensuring seeds are delivered early, farmers in Busia have said.
Farmers’ leaders on Monday said the number of people who planted the crop this year has dropped by more than half compared to previous years due to delayed delivery of cotton seeds.
They said most farmers were forced to plant food crops after failing to receive seeds ahead of planting, which is usually between May and July.
Malaba-Malakisi Cotton Farmers Cooperative Society chairman Willy Opili said the government must ensure timely delivery of seeds to encourage farmers to continue cultivating the crop that is key to the revival of textile industries in the country.
“This season we have had many challenges. We had anticipated to get cotton seeds for our farmers early, but the seeds delayed,” Opili said in an interview.
“We were forced to order the seeds from Rift Valley Products because the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) that has been supplying seeds did not bring the seeds at the right time.”
“Because of the delay in the delivery of seeds, our farmers planted late. As a result we anticipate to get very little cotton this season compared to last year when we planted cotton at the right time.”
Malaba-Malakisi Cotton Farmers Cooperative Society harvested 55 tonnes of the fibre crop in 2020.
But Opili said going by the challenges farmers are presently facing, led by late seed delivery, the cooperative society may harvest not more than 20 tonnes.
A local bank had agreed to buy the seeds on behalf of the farmers, but failure by the cooperative society to meet tax compliance requirements as demanded by the bank forced the financial institution to renegade on the seed delivery agreement.
Opili said the Agriculture and Food Authority, which is mandated to oversee cotton production, should ensure seeds are delivered at the right time next year to enable farmers to plant early.
Out of the 3,790 members of Malaba-Malakisi Cotton Farmers Cooperative Society, approximately 700 planted the crop this season, he said.
“We want to give our farmers that economic strength. We want to revive this sector so that we can enable our people to have money in their pockets because with money, they will be able to fend for their families,” Opili said.
Jairosi Cotton Farmers Cooperative Society chairman Aggrey Emojong said the anticipated low cotton harvest this year would have been averted if farmers had received cotton seeds early.
“This year we had projected to harvest a lot of cotton, but we faced the challenge of getting cotton seeds early,” he said.
The majority of farmers, he said, received seeds in September, which culminated in late planting.
“We are not sure if the harvest will be good because our farmers planted the crop late. If AFA can intervene and get the seeds delivered in March or April next year, farmers will plant early,” he said.
The leaders also called for companies buying the fibre crop to increase prices.
Jairosi Cotton Farmers Cooperative manager Edward Oteba said many farmers prefer selling their cotton in Uganda because of the lucrative buying price offered by Ugandan buyers.
When Kenyan companies were offering Sh50 for one kilo of cotton, Uganda businesspeople were offering Sh55.
This, Oteba said, made many farmers sell their crop in Uganda.
“Our farmers wanted to plant hybrid cotton which comes with high returns but this did not happen because there was no good coordination between us and AFA who have been supplying the seeds,” he said.
“Again, we have been warned that these seeds will be sold and many of our farmers are unable to buy seeds which we have been informed will be sold at Sh2,200 for every one kilo packet. Our appeal as a cooperative society is that this price should be reviewed and a one kilo packet sold at Sh500 at most.”
Oteba said they are not sure if they will get cotton seeds early next week.
"The government should listen to this plea. On matters cotton price, we are facing a big challenge because we are near the Kenya-Uganda border. Traders from Uganda usually cross the border to buy our cotton because of the low price we are offered here.”
He appealed to the government to increase surveillance at the border to make sure brokers from Uganda do not cross into Kenya without the required clearance at the One-Stop Border Post.
Oteba said most farmers are demoralised and are contemplating abandoning cotton production because of delays in seed delivery and low buying prices.
Edited by A.N
