(3 minutes read)
· Agro production in Zambia is recording good progress thanks to increase in production of key food and cash crops like cotton
· The yield of cotton is expected to expand by about 20%
· Analysts are of the opinion that if the cotton growth is sustainable at 20% over the next five years, it could rekindle the textile and apparel secondary industry in Zambia
Agro production in Zambia is recording good progress thanks to increase in production of key food and cash crops like cotton. The yield of cotton is expected to expand by about 20%. Analysts are of the opinion that if the cotton growth is sustainable at 20% over the next five years, it could rekindle the textile and apparel secondary industry in Zambia.
The production of cotton is expected to increase from 55,000 metric tonnes to 66,000 metric tonnes for the 2020-21 farming season due to the increase in the planted area, according to the Cotton Board of Zambia.
Cotton is planted in more areas this year compared to the previous year. This is expected to increase production. There are currently 286,000 farmers across the country, which are growing cotton. The buying price for cotton this year has increased to K7.5 per kg. There was an increase in production in the 2019-20 farming season, driven by the higher buying price as compared to the previous year. The buying price ruled at K4.2 per Kg for the 2019-20 farming season. This has encouraged more farmers to grow the crop. Higher prices this year would help more farmers cultivating cotton. The board is of the opinion that but for challenges like adverse weather conditions in some cotton growing areas like flood and pest attacks, the production could have been more.
Zambia had about 225,000 cotton farmers and these farmers are mostly based in the Northern, Muchinga, Eastern, Southern, Central and Lusaka provinces last year. This has now increased to 286, 000 this year.
