Cotton farmers from Yatta, Machakos County, have received 5 tonnes of free seeds from the government, ending their despair of failing to plant their much-coveted crop this rainy season.
The over 500 farmers from Yatta and Masinga sub-counties who have for the past four years been receiving good returns from cotton farming said one of the private investors who has been supporting them with seeds pulled out, they lose hope of getting the seeds.
Led by their Chairman, Francis Kilango, they said the seed distribution came at the right time when the rains had just commenced.
Kilango, who is also the Chairman of the Lower Eastern Cotton Growers Union, termed the move to supply the seeds a significant step by the government to revitalise the cotton industry.
“For the past four years, the farmers have depended on Thika Cloth Mills, a Thika-based textile industry, for free seeds and pesticides.
This season, the company has been unable to support us for their reasons, and the government quickly intervened,” he said.
He said the seeds, imported from Cuba by the government, mark a shift from the BT cotton seeds that they had been used to and that had been introduced by the previous administration.
Unlike the BT variety that the farmers have been planting, Kilango said this new Hart variety is prone to pest attacks, matures after six months compared to BT’s three months, and does not yield as much as the BT variety. However, the new variety better suits arid and semi-arid lands like Yatta, unlike BT.
“All we wanted was the free seeds. We know they will do well, and we call on the national and county governments to support us with pesticides, which will be needed regularly so as to maintain the quality of the wool,” he said.
Other farmers led by Julius Kaloki and Jacklyn Kalekye welcomed the government’s intervention, saying the income from cotton has been supplementing their earnings, thus driving poverty out of the area.
Last year, Kaloki sold over Sh150, 000 worth of cotton, much higher than what he has been receiving from selling maize and beans that he has traditionally been earning.
“Had we missed out on the seeds, most of us would have been sent into panic and endless poverty because the crop has become precious in this area,” Kaloki said.
The interest in cotton farming in the area came after the government increased prices from Sh52 to Sh72 per kilogram.
By Muoki Charles
