Ministry scales up Bt cotton growing in counties as first crop starts to flower
Christopher Ndukuli, a farmer in Busia County, on his Bt cotton farm. Bt cotton matures a month earlier than conventional cotton and produces many more bolls.
Bt cotton seeds are developed to kill the African bollworm, which is responsible for up to 100 per cent crop loss.
Bt cotton matures a month earlier than conventional cotton and produces many more bolls. Experts also say the GM variety can produce up to 1,200 kilos an acre while conventional cotton can yield as low as 200.
Kenya last year approved commercial farming of Bt Cotton, and in April, the Ministry of Agriculture distributed one metric tonne of Bt cotton seeds for planting on demonstration plots and raised awareness on the transgenic cotton varieties.
Cotton is grown in 24 out of Kenya’s 47 devolved regions, even though less than 10 have put the crop in their strategic plans.
The commercialisation of insect-resistant genetically modified cotton (Bt cotton) is gaining momentum as the crop starts to flower on farms in Busia, Homa Bay and Siaya, where it was first grown on demo farms.
The government yesterday started distributing Bt cotton seeds in Kitui, Makueni, Kirinyaga, Embu, Meru and Tharaka Nithi counties, which were once the cotton belt of the country alongside western and Nyanza before the death of the crop dubbed white gold in the 1980s.
