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More than twenty years ago, before market liberalization policies opened the local economies to mitumba, clothes were popular with a handful of Kenyans.
The local textile industry was so vibrant that it employed thousands of Kenyans. them too. The industry was actually the second largest employer after the public service.
Across the country, in areas where cotton growing had become a flourishing business, cotton collection points, still known as the pamba store, were supported.
Notably, during the boom, the government supported the industry through the Kenya Cotton Board, which had an organized marketing system in which farmers were paid quickly. The board also invested heavily in textile factories such as Raymonds and Rift Valley Textiles (Rivatex) in Eldoret and Kisumu Cotton Mills (Kicomi), which provided easy markets for fiber.
Elizabeth Auma, a cotton producer in Ahero, Kisumu, recalls "I have educated my five children and I have grown a live cotton on a four acre lot," says the 68-year-old farmer [19659006]. ] Unexpectedly, the market began to shrink, pests and diseases of cotton became endemic, making the crop less profitable, according to the farmer.
Vincent Egesa, president of the Cooperative Union of Cotton Producers of Luanda the genesis of the fall of cotton.
"Our misfortunes began after the liberalization of the industry in the early 90s, when the import of clothing of the occasion was given the go-ahead. This led to the collapse of the Cotton Lint and Seed Marketing Board.
The removal of the restrictions finally caused a huge price drop on mitumba, which flooded the market.
The superior quality and originality of mitumba the eye of the young urban population, in addition to killing the demand for locally produced clothing.
Gradually, companies like Kicomi and Rivatex closed down and more than half of the cotton ginning factories breathed their last. And just like that, the mitumba tormented his local counterpart in oblivion.
In the last five years, the government has aggressively redoubled its efforts to revive the once-lucrative sector by adopting the 2006 Cotton Bill. The Cotton Development Authority – now known as the Fiber Crop Directorate – oversees the process.
Because pests and diseases have contributed to the death of the local textile industry, local scientists have also undertaken research. The research included a genetic modification of cotton to make it resistant to pests and diseases.
Already, the Kenya Farming and Livestock Research Organization (Kalro) has planted the first Bt cotton (Bacillus thuringiensis) in Kibos, Kisumu County.
The marketing of Bt cotton is scheduled for January 2019, when farmers are likely to plant their first biotech cotton seed in March of that year.
Dr. Charles Waturu, director of the Kari Thika center and principal researcher of Bt cotton, introducing this variety is essential to revive the production of the crop, which has risen to a record 70 000 bullets in 1985 to about 20,000 bullets currently.
"Compared to conventional cotton seeds that produce about 2,500 kilograms of acre, Bt cotton yields give double," said Dr. Waturu.
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