Jackson Mwalimu Nduria is a farmer in Kinondo, Kwale county who has made a fortune from cotton farming.
Ten years ago, Nduria worked as a waiter in one of the big hotels in Diani and he hated farming the most.
However, due to the uncertainty in the hotel industry, Nduria decided to embrace farming and developed an interest in cotton.
Nduria is currently one of the successful cotton growers in the region and he has amassed a lot of wealth from the crop.
He owns several houses, cars, land and lives a luxurious life with his family in Kinondo village. A life he never expected.
"Life was not rosy in the hotel industry, I lived hand to mouth but thanks to God, He changed my life through farming," he said.
According to Nduria cotton farming has helped him unshackle the chain of poverty and raised his status in society.
The 42-year-old man said there are a lot of riches in the crop but very few people are aware because they have focused most of their energy on subsistence farming.
Nduria regrets wasting his youth in the hotel sector and wishes that he had started cotton growing earlier.
He said in the hotel industry, he was a desperate man who would just take any job to survive and worked for long hours to earn little unlike in cotton farming.
The cotton farmer said most of his friends scorned him when he quit his waiter job for farming are still struggling in the hotel sector.
"People thought I was crazy leaving work and many cracked jokes that I have lost direction but they can now see the transformation in my life because I proved them wrong," he said.
Nduria is married and blessed with two boys who have also embraced farming.
Kilalo Ramadhan, is another successful farmer who recently joined cotton farming. He started last year and has already harvested the cop several times.
He is a teacher by profession and is currently the headteacher of Gazi Primary School within Msambweni subcounty.
Ramadhan decided to do farming after realising the riches in the cotton crop.
He too has also earned himself a lot of money within the short period he engaged in cotton farming.
With cotton profits, Ramadhan has expanded his M-Pesa and shop businesses to add extra money to his pocket.
"Cotton farming is very good, the profits are guaranteed and that's why I am growing financially," he said.
The 59-year-old is planning to fully concentrate on cotton farming once he retires next year.
According to the farmers, a Kilo of cotton retail at Sh52 and in one acre a farmer would harvest more than two tonnes.
How do they manage
Both Nduria and Ramadhan are members of the Pamba Na Viazi Cooperative which equips them with technical support among other things.
Pavi was initiated in 2015 by Base Titanium — the Australian mining firm in Kwale.
The cooperative empowers small-scale farmers with basic agricultural techniques for improving the community's livelihood and standards of living.
The programme began with 100 farmers and has risen to 150, who are actively growing cotton.
However, the number of active farmers is low because according to Nduria, Pavi has a membership of around 6,000 farmers.
The cotton programme is implemented by Business for Development which is working with Cotton On, an Australian apparel company.
The company helps Pavi to find a market for the produce.
Nduria said the approval of growing genetically modified cotton known as BT cotton by the government has largely revitalise their trade.
He said local farmers have managed to successfully maximise production and change their lives.
For example, Nduria was able to expand cotton growing from half an acre to two and is looking forward to having it planted in a broad area.
"Next year I will be growing cotton on five acres because the BT cotton has proved to be effective," he said.
Nduria and Kilalo said that GMO cotton is resistant to pests and diseases and takes a short time to mature.
They said in a year they can harvest two to three times fetching them a lot of money compared to their professional jobs.
The two said this year Kwale farmers expect to harvest more than 75, 000 tonnes of cotton.
Nduria, who is also the Pavi chairman said cotton grown is not susceptible to exploitation because the cooperative protects the farmers.
He said anyone selling cotton must be a registered member to enjoy better benefits.
"Nobody can steal cotton because they will have a hard time finding a market unlike maize and other food crops," Nduria said.
Challenges
Nduria said despite producing a lot of cotton, farmers in Kwale lack a ginnery for processing and value addition.
He said they have to travel long distances mostly to Makueni to have their cotton processed, which he says is very expensive.
Ramadhan said they incur losses because a huge percentage of their profit is consumed by the high cost of transportation.
The farmers said the government had promised to construct a modern ginnery but it has stalled for years.
The ginnery was to be constructed at the Pavi Kinondo park to improve cotton farming, ginning and garment production.
It is expected to have six gins with a capacity to process up to 1,800 of cotton per day and produce about 600kg of lint.
Nduria said getting cotton seeds is also a problem because not any farmer can plant the crop unless they are registered.
"Our biggest challenge is having the cotton seed. They are hard to find and you have to liaise with the cooperative all the time," he said.
Ramadhan said the drought is also affecting the crop in the region. He said poor rains have contributed to low production yet the county has the potential to produce large quantities.
He also said many farmers in the area still prefer subsistence farming for food security instead of commercial farming.
(Edited by Tabnacha O)
