Kenya: From Boom to Bust and Back: Kenya's Long Cotton Journey

What the report says

AllAfrica reports that Kenya’s cotton industry is seeing a tentative revival after years of decline, with attention centered on Mpeketoni in Lamu County, where farmers and cooperative leaders are weighing whether Bt cotton can restore a once-strong sector. The story traces how cotton previously supported rural incomes, cooperatives, ginneries and textile mills, before a period of weak prices, market concentration and falling farmer participation helped push the industry into contraction.

Local growers quoted by AllAfrica say the new phase depends on more than improved seed. David Njuguna of the Lake Kenyatta Cooperative Society recalls cotton’s earlier importance to families in the area and says better policy and pricing have helped create new optimism, but seed delivery delays remain a practical obstacle. Mohammed Dikature, a long-time farmer, says continued planting will depend on farm-gate prices that better cover production costs. Cecily Wanjiku adds that insecure land tenure also discourages investment in a crop that takes months to mature.

The article places Kenya’s Bt cotton rollout in a broader debate about genetically modified crops. Bt cotton, designed to resist bollworm pests, was approved for commercialisation in 2019 after trials, according to the report. At the same time, the piece argues that cotton recovery will only be durable if the value chain improves beyond the farm gate.

Former Kenya Association of Manufacturers chief executive Phyllis Wakiaga is cited saying Africa captures only a small share of value from cotton once it reaches textile and apparel stages. Her comments underscore the article’s wider point: Kenya’s cotton future depends not only on planting more, but also on stronger processing, skills, finance and industrial capacity.