The State Department of Industrialization, the Ministry of Agriculture and the East African Rift Valley Textile Company Limited (RIVATEX) will collaborate on the project.
This step is expected to boost the domestic cotton industry.
As part of steps to boost Kenya’s cotton industry, farmers there will be provided with free chemicals and training to ensure maximum yields and the government will be able to provide sufficient raw materials. for the textile industry. Ministry of Industrialization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rift Valley Textile East Africa Ltd. will cooperate on the project.
The government has injected SH 7 billion to modernize textile mills in the Rift Valley (Rivatex) and restore the Luanda cotton processing plant in Busia, but these facilities are operating below capacity due to the cotton value chain collapsed.
Acting food and agriculture agency director general Beatrice Nyamwanu said the renewed focus on rejuvenating the industry will scale up cotton production, which currently stands at 3,000 tonnes, as reported by Kenyan media.
Kenya currently produces 28,000 bales of cotton annually compared to the required 140,000 bales. To meet demand, companies import 80% of their raw materials from India, China and the rest of East Africa.
Fiber2Fashion (DS) News Desk
