Despair reigns in cotton belt of Western Kenya

Malakisi ginnery which was commissioned on August 27, 1976, is one of the oldest in Busia.

However, the once-popular ginnery is now a pale shadow of its former self and tells the story of one of the many dying industries in Western Kenya.

Malakisi town's strategic location between Bungoma and Busia counties and a vibrant cotton industry saw it serve residents of Sirisia, Bumula and Teso North constituencies for decades.

It stood as the industrial capital of the now Bungoma County with the ginnery and firms making bar soaps, animal feeds, oil and cotton wool among other products.

Today, the abandoned ginnery that once throbbed with life has been invaded by monkeys that play on old machines which have not worked for years now.

This follows the collapse of cotton farming in Busia in 1980s, a situation that led to the closure of the ginnery.

The collapse saw most farmers shun cotton production leading to the loss of jobs by many residents.

It has been years now since the government initiated plans of reviving four ginneries in Busia and Bungoma counties including Malakisi.

Plans to revamp the ginneries remain a pipe dream as the efforts are bearing no fruits.

With the coming of devolution, Malakisi residents had high hopes that the cotton industry would be brought back to life.

The Government of Busia promised to revive cotton farming but the pledge has not been fulfilled to date.

Farmers in Busia and Bungoma fault the government for poor management of the ginnery that led to its collapse.

The ginnery was initially managed by an Indian investor whose style has been praised by local farmers.

Its collapse in 1990s left farmers without a ready market for their produce.

Most of the growers abandoned the cash crop for tobacco which appeared to be doing well.

The national government intervened in 2020 and set in motion plans to revive the ginnery and cotton farming.

Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) introduced the high-yielding Mahyco C567 cotton variety in Busia and Bungoma counties.

Farmers in Sirisia received 280 kilogrammes of the hybrid cotton seeds as one way of encouraging people to grow the crop.

“We were given the seeds in 2020 and realised a bumper harvest. We had huge expectations in the crop but it appears no one is keen on reviving the ginneries and cotton farming in Busia,” laments Arnold Marumbu, the chair Sirisia sub-County Cotton Farmers Association.

But Sirisia sub-County Agricultural Officer Electine Wabwile revealed that on top of the the 280 kilogrammes of cotton seeds, the government also gave out two ginning machines to the Malakisi ginnery "which are not in operation due to lack of raw material."

The officer has challenged farmers to take cotton farming seriously in order to benefit from the machines.

According to Wabwile, Bungoma has a huge potential of producing high quality cotton.

"The soils are good and we encourage farmers to take advantage of the reliable rainfall to grow cotton."

Nonetheless, farmers remain disillusioned with some of them claiming to be neglected by both county and national governments.