At COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, Thursday, November 14 was Finance, Investment and Trade Day, with a programme of events that focused on collectively scaling up climate finance whilst ‘greening trade’ – promoting environmental goods and low-carbon technologies.
Creating sustainable jobs and developing opportunities for sustainable investment are pillars of the Sustainable Urban Economic Development (SUED) programme, which we have been delivering in Kenya for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office since 2018. In this insight piece, we look at how SUED is supporting the development of opportunities in Kenya’s cotton industry.
Kenya’s current cotton industry sits on a rich reserve of opportunity just waiting to be tapped. Despite the country having suitable land for cotton growing, only four private ginneries operate domestically. And while annual demand for cotton lint in Kenya exceeds 200,000 bales, the country only produces around 3,000 bales, leading to heavy reliance on imports.
Presently, the cotton-to-garment value chain in Kenya is imbalanced due to the heavy reliance on imported inputs, outdated manufacturing infrastructure and low interest from farmers in planting cotton. Lamu county, in the picturesque Lamu Archipelago on the north of Kenya’s coast, has the capacity, climate and resources to support efforts to address that imbalance. The county has huge agricultural potential – not just in the textile sector – with the number of farmers in the region is projected to increase from 5,000 in 2024 to 15,000 in 2027. Yet while cotton yields in Lamu are significantly higher than other regions, the absence of local ginneries results in farmers being paid 50% below the global market value.
The Sustainable Urban Economic Development Programme (SUED), funded by the UK Government, is working with Thika Cotton Mills to change this narrative of the textile industry in Kenya – and Lamu is the perfect place to start. The region enjoys suitable conditions for cotton farming such as 20–30-degree average temperatures and low annual rainfall, resulting in its yield being much higher than other parts of the country with farms yielding 1,500 to 2,500 tonnes per hectare per year compared to the national average of less than 500 tonnes.
To take advantage of the cotton farming potential in Lamu, SUED is supporting Thika Cotton Mills to set up the county’s first ever cotton ginning and oil extraction plant. The facility will specialise in ginning and will include the extraction of cottonseed oil, generating valuable by-products such as cottonseed cake for animal feed. The plant will process 800 metric tons of lint in the first year and scale up to 2,000 metric tons annually in three years. In terms of job creation, this will mean up to 240 full time jobs, and support and opportunities for more than 5,000 cotton farmers.
Boost cotton farming in Lamu By working closely with the county and other local stakeholders, extension services will be offered to farmers ensuring that they take up cotton farming and put in place best agricultural practices to ensure high quality yields and practice sustainable farming that is climate smart.
Regional hub By having a ginnery domiciled in Lamu, the programme is not only impacting Lamu County but also its environs. Farmers will benefit from having a ginnery close by, eliminating significant transportation costs . It is estimated it will save 1,428 trips of 700km each, saving 262 metric tonnes of CO2.
Value added production In addition to ginning, the processing plant will extract cotton seed oil and process the remaining cake into protein rich animal feed which will in turn be beneficial to farmers in the region as well as diversify the plant’s revenue.
Digital efficiency Thika Cotton Mills, with support from SUED and Lamu County, will work closely with farmers to enroll them onto a digital platform that will optimise resource allocation and provide a means of effective communication of relevant information on how to increase crop yields.
Climate smart The ginnery will use solar panels to generate as much energy as possible. Thika Cotton Mills will also train and sensitise their farmers on adopting sustainable practices like soil conservation, pest management and using organic fertilisers.
The cotton ginning plant in Lamu is expected to benefit the lives and livelihoods of more than 5,000 local farmers. It will give them a ready market to offtake their produce, encouraging them to increase their production yields, helping them to improve their farm management practices and gain new skills and, crucially, improving their household incomes.