Govt sets up 2 700 cotton demonstration plots

Malawi Government says it established 2 700 demonstration plots for cotton production in the 2012/13 financial year out of the targeted 3 000, officials have said.

The plots were developed to as part of government efforts to upscale production of cotton across the country in the light of challenges that the county’s green gold, tobacco, has been facing due to the global anti-tobacco smoking campaign.

In the 2012/13 National Budget, Parliament allocated K186.25 million towards the Promotion of Cotton Production Programme under the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security budget vote which has also been allocated K200 million in this 2013/14 fiscal year for the same programme.

According to a latest report on highlights of the 2012/13 and 2013/14 budgeted activities in the agricultural sector from Agriculture Ministry’s Farm Input Subsidy Programme (Fisp) coordinator Christine Mtambo, the funds allocated to the cotton development programme also helped to increase cotton production up to 162 791 metric tons out of the targeted 150 000 tonnes.

“The following are some of the interventions which were made in the cotton sector: 2 700 demonstration plots were established out of 3 000.

In the 2012/13 season, the projected output for the cotton up-scaling programme was 150 000 metric tonnes of cotton valued at $75 million [about K30 billion]. According to production estimates the ministry has achieved 162 791 metric tonnes of cotton,” says Mtambo.

She says that funds allocated in the budget also helped to ensure that 3 918 metric tons of certified cotton seed was distributed in targeted cotton growing areas, adding the ministry has also registered 30 000 cotton farmer clubs under the programme.

Apart from the certified seeds, the funds also enabled government to distribute various pesticides to ensure high production of cotton in the targeted districts including Karonga, Chikhwawa and Salima.

“Chemicals such as cypermethrin (85 090 litres), deltamethrin (79 627 litres) and of acetameprid (20 000 litres) were distributed.

“One ginning machine [was] installed in Ngabu and construction [of facilities for the ginning machine] in Balaka is underway,” says Mtambo.

She says that the programme also enhanced cotton basic seed multiplication at Makoka Agricultural Research Station in Zomba, adding 11 500 hectares has been deployed for certified seed multiplication across the country.

According to the 2013/14 national budget output based document, the programme increased the hectarage for cotton production to 262 266 across the county in the 2012/13 fiscal year.

In the 2013/14 fiscal year, Mtambo says: “The [cotton up-scaling] programme will be implemented for the third time this season with an aim of increasing cotton productivity and production in the country to complement tobacco production as a foreign exchange earner.

“The ministry targets to produce 150 000 metric tons of cotton through the provision of seed and chemicals to farmers.

In her 2013/14 State of the Nation Address delivered at Parliament in May this year, President Joyce Banda said government will intensify efforts to promote the cotton industry as a way of broadening the country’s export base.