By Mcloyd Chilangiza:
The Cotton Council of Malawi has bemoaned the government’s low investment in the production of cotton, saying it is aggravating the decrease in the production of the crop in the country.
Cotton Council of Malawi spokesperson Prisca Jamali disclosed this in Lilongwe on Tuesday ahead of the commemoration of World Cotton Day, which falls on October 4.
Events marking the day will be held in Salima District.
Jamali said lack of investments in the production of cotton has aggravated the decrease in the production of the cash crop.
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“Malawi used to do well in the production of cotton in the past. We could produce 100, 000 metric tonnes but, at the moment, we have dropped to 10, 000 metric tonnes, and even below that, because of lack of investments in the sector,” Jamali said.
Jamali also said cotton production has a potential of generating foreign currency of about 124 million dollars and 58 million dollars of income to the farmers, if the government and private sector are to prioritise financing the sector.
Eastern and Southern Region Cotton Organisation Secretary Sunduzwayo Banda emphasised the need for collaboration amongst cotton producers to increase the production of the cash crop as well as address price fluctuations on the market.
“We need unity on equitability, productivity, competitiveness and investments on the international market
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“And we also need investments in the area of value addition to improve how much money we were making per kilogramme of cotton,” Banda said.
Banda also asked the government to introduce incentives such as removing taxes in the production and processing of cotton proceeds to attract foreign investors so as to address unemployment woos in the country .
On her part, Africa Institute of Corporate Citizenship Chief Executive Officer Driana Lwanda reiterated that natural disasters and high cost of production played a pivotal role in the dwindling of cotton production in the country.
‘As a country, we should understand that for the last 10 years, cotton production has been going down .This is owing to the fact that production inputs are very high and also disasters which have been hitting the country aggravated the decrease. So as the council we are working with farmers in ensuring easy access to farm inputs,” Lwanda said
