Busia County farmers have received 24 tonnes of cotton seed as government ramps up measures to restore cotton as a key economic crop in western Kenya.<\/p>\n
The consignment targets growers in Jairos Farmers Cooperative Society, Nambale Farmers Cooperative Society and Luanda Farmers Cooperative Union. E-voucher system will be used to despatch the input to farmers.<\/p>\n
The delivery is the first instalment of 100 tonnes of seed the government plans to supply in the county.<\/p>\n
The distribution is part of the Kenya Kwanza administration\u2019s push to revive the cotton value chain. Under the programme, the government is working with partners to provide quality and affordable inputs.<\/p>\n
Vistari, formerly Rivatex, has signed off-take agreements with Busia and other cotton-growing counties. The firm supplies inputs and buys all produce. To date it has procured 1,500 metric tonnes of Open Pollinated Variety seed for farmers across the country.<\/p>\n
Vistari is collaborating with the Presidential Economic Transformation Secretariat, which coordinates revival efforts in key agricultural value chains.<\/p>\n
\u201cPETS played a key role in logistical support while AFA and the Busia County government ensured proper coordination and technical support,\u201d said Augustine Cheruiyot, head of PETS, during the handover.<\/p>\n
Vistari is also upgrading its facility to increase capacity.<\/p>\n
Busia County Executive for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Dr. Simplisius Mukok, said more than 200,000 households have returned to cotton farming following joint revival measures by the national and county governments. He linked the renewed interest to higher prices and improved support. Seed cotton now fetches Sh72 per kilo, up from Sh32 three years ago.<\/p>\n
Other interventions include the revival of farmer cooperatives and the Luanda Ginnery, which was upgraded for Sh150 million. The ginnery currently produces eight bales of cotton lint and 20 litres of seed cake oil daily. Dr. Mukok said output is still constrained by limited raw material but expressed confidence that production will rise.<\/p>\n
\u201cFarmers now aggregate their produce under cooperatives before it goes to the ginnery,\u201d he said. This, he added, ensures proper storage and allows farmers to benefit from economies of scale.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe facility is under new management with regulations. Things are looking up, and we expect to see significant change soon,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n
Busia is among the counties prioritised under the national cotton revival programme launched in 2022. To raise productivity, the county has deployed extension officers and introduced an agripreneur model. Seven agripreneurs per ward, equipped with motorbikes, work directly with farmers to deliver modern agronomy and farm business training.<\/p>\n
While many farmers prefer Bt cotton, the county is also promoting open-pollinated varieties, which smallholders can recycle for planting. Bt seeds cannot be reused, making them costlier.<\/p>\n
Progress has also been made on pricing, extension services, cooperative management and adoption of best practices, Dr. Cheruiyot said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis shows that the government\u2019s strategies are bearing fruit,\u201d he said, adding that the partnership aligns with the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda under President William Ruto.<\/p>\n
Cotton was one of the crops Busia residents prioritised during pre-2022 public forums under Kenya Kwanza. Development partners supporting the revival include IFAD and the World Bank through the National Agricultural Value Chain Development Project.<\/p>\n
Farmers are also benefiting from seed cake, used in animal feed manufacture. Once treated as waste, it now adds to earnings alongside cotton fibre.<\/p>\n
To sustain the gains, national and county governments are developing a legal framework that includes plans for a cotton corporation. An industrial park and export processing zone are under construction in Nasewa, Matayos Constituency.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe final destination for cotton and other crops is the industrial park, where farmers can add value,\u201d Dr. Mukok said.<\/p>\n
The county is also encouraging youth to take part in agriculture, not only as farmers but in marketing and digital services, as part of job creation efforts.<\/p>\n
The post 24 tonnes of cotton deed delivered to Busia farmers as revival efforts gather pace<\/a> appeared first on KBC Digital<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Busia County farmers have received 24 tonnes of cotton seed as government ramps up measures to restore cotton as a key economic crop in western Kenya. The consignment targets growers in Jairos Farmers Cooperative Society, Nambale Farmers Cooperative Society and Luanda Farmers Cooperative Union. E-voucher system will be used to despatch the input to farmers. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-143965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143965"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143965\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}