Govt Eyes Cotton Production Revival

By Lloyd Mwale in Kadoma

After years of decline in cotton production, the government is now optimistic about the revival of this once-thriving industry.

The announcement was made last Friday at Quton Cotton Field Day, held at Kadoma Research Centre by Prof Obert Jiri, Permanent Secretary,Ministry of Agriculture Mechanisation and Water Resources Development whose speech was read on his behalf by Medlinah Magwenzi,Chief Director Agriculture Development Advisory Services(ADAS) in the Ministry of Agriculture Mechanisation and Water Resources Development.

“The government is fully committed to supporting the revival of cotton production in the country and the government’s main focus is on the farmers, who are the backbone of the agricultural sector. If farmers are not appreciated, their hard work and dedication will go unnoticed. Therefore, the government is taking necessary steps to support the farmers and ensure their success.

“The importance of research in the revitalization of the cotton industry is of paramount importance, as government, we acknowledged the efforts of Quton in conducting extensive research and organizing events like the Cotton Field Day, where farmers can exchange ideas and learn about new techniques to improve their yields which has been shown by the number of cotton balls on a single plant can help farmers understand the potential of their crop and work towards achieving higher yields.

“The government is also promoting a holistic value chain approach for the success of cotton production. This approach involves strengthening, developing, and supporting every aspect of the production process, from seed selection to marketing the final product. The government is determined to provide all necessary support and resources to ensure the success of this approach.

“The crucial role that Quton plays in the development of the cotton industry is a welcome development as we look at how to revive the cotton production by small holder farmers and we’re very happy for Quton by introducing new seed varieties that are tailored to different climatic and soil conditions. These new seed varieties will enable farmers from different parts of the country to grow cotton successfully. The government will be working with Quton to distribute these new seed varieties to farmers across the country as government I’m actually seeing the revival of cotton production,a crop that was seen as our White Gold, we’ve 3 million small holder farmers doing cotton so we’ve put an enabling environment under the Presidential Input Scheme for the revival of our cotton.
So as government, we’re saying that the hybrid seeds need to be supported in terms of inputs and water because we’ve some farmers who need to do 100 hectares of cotton like what we used to have when we had estates doing cotton production under irrigation but now small holder farmers can do it using borehole!”said Prof Jiri.
The decline in cotton production over the years has been a cause for concern for both the government and farmers. To address this issue, the government has taken proactive measures, such as introducing new extension officers and promoting the return to cotton production. The government is urging farmers to take inspiration from Quton, who has successfully conducted research and developed new techniques to improve cotton production.

“The success of the cotton industry is not only important for the economy but also for the livelihoods of the farming community. With the government’s support and partnership with companies like Quton and Ginners, it is hoped that the cotton industry in the country will experience a strong revival and once again become a major contributor to the country’s economy.
Alec Bikosoni a cotton farmer at Braeside Farm in Chinhoyi welcomed the initiative by Quton to introduce new cotton seed varieties.

“I’m happy to have learnt about these new seed varieties from Quton,this is real seed which I think will germinate properly and I am going to try it at my farm,I did this Hyco variety last season and have better yield and I am going to try other seed varieties and I call on the government and other stakeholders to take these seed varieties to farmers across the country,”said Bikosoni.

Jonas Chindanya from Agri-Value Chain (AVC Ginnery) welcomed the Cotton Field Day.

“The development of good varieties of seed is a welcome development because thats where the crop starts from I think if one gets the right seed and right agronomy,I think right seed is 50% of the problem one gets a good yield and if one is doing 4000kg/ha at $0.35 that will be $1400/ha,it a good price for smallholder farmers and today we had a lot of things we went through but we need to have a dialogue with Agriculture Marketing Authority (AMA)

TOP PIC:
Medlinah Magwenzi,Chief Director Agricultural Development Advisory Services(ADAS) in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development