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Australian mining entity Base Titanium in association with Kwale county government and Kwale Pamba and Viazi Cooperatives (PAVI) has constructed a model ginnery in Msambweni Sub County as part of the ‘Kwale Cotton Programme’.
Australian mining entity Base Titanium in association with Kwale county government and Kwale Pamba and Viazi Cooperatives (PAVI) has constructed a model ginnery in Msambweni Sub County as part of the ‘Kwale Cotton Programme’. This is to revive cotton farming in the region. The PAVI cooperative, supported by the mining company, has been instrumental in the revival of the cotton sector by supporting local small-scale farmers to plant cash crops on their farms.
The setting up of the Ginnery project was aimed at improving farming, ginning, and garment production in the coastal county. Base Titanium working closely with the Kwale county government and Kwale Pamba and Viazi Cooperatives (PAVI) pumped Sh1billion to kick start the ginnery and textile project. The ginnery will support the miners’ cotton farming initiative launched by the mining firm under its community development programmes.
Ginning the cotton in Kwale, local farmers will be able to achieve better prices for their produce noting that the cultivation of the cash crop was specifically designed for poverty reduction. Kwale Cotton Project supported by Base Titanium continues to gain traction among local farmers who are embracing cotton as an income-generating crop.The PAVI cooperative program which began with 100 farmers in 2015 has since grown to include over 3,000 farmers cultivating 2,000 acres of cotton on their farms. Base Titanium hopes to expand the Kwale cotton programme to over 10,000 farmers in the coming years, says Base Titanium General Manager (GM), External Affairs Simon Wall.
Governor Fatuma Achani says the project will enhance cotton production and the textile industry and raise the livelihood of local cotton farmers. Governor Achani says the new project will focus on developing key components of the cotton value chain comprising farming, weaving, ginning, and linting of cotton. The devolved government will make conscious efforts to ensure it harnesses opportunities in the cotton value chain as well as facilitating investment.
Cotton farmers in the past faced challenges ranging from financial constraints, low yields, lack of a sustainable market, and under-investment in the sector. The potential in the cotton value chain in Kwale was huge and has proven to be transformative, noting that more than 3,000 smallholder farmers have now taken up cotton farming. The cotton ginnery will leverage the agricultural potential of Kwale such as cash crops like cotton to drive socio-economic growth.
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The government has identified insufficient cotton seeds as one of the major challenges facing local farmers and pledged to change the scenario through the distribution of high-yielding cotton seeds to farmers. President William Ruto who paid a working visit to the ginnery site last week pledged Sh100 million from the national government towards the project. He praised efforts to revive cotton production in the coastal county noting that it will create jobs in line with the national government’s industrialization drive.
The President urged stakeholders to come up with a roadmap for the revitalization of the cotton, ginners and textile sector in the country. President Ruto says the national government is coming up with aggressive programmes to assist the growth of the textile industry in the country and enhance competitiveness.
