Around 10,000 Kenyan cotton farmers will get certified cotton seeds at subsidised prices before the beginning of long-rains season in 2016 from the state under the Bura Irrigation Scheme as a part of the government’s plan to increase the country’s cotton production and domestic and global market share, according to Kenyan media reports. Bura Irrigation Scheme is a three-year programme to boost food and cash crops production in the country, implemented by the Kenyan government in the year 2014. Around 24 metric tonnes of seeds were harvested under this scheme, which will be distributed to farmers at subsidised prices. Cotton farmers in Kenya have been planting low quality seeds since a long time, which resulted in lower quality production and made Kenyan cotton less competitive in the market. The Bura Irrigation Scheme will also enable seed bulking, ultimately enhancing the quality of production. Kenyan cotton farmers are envisaged to plant only certified cotton seeds after the duration of this scheme. Through the medium of this scheme, the government is working to uplift the cotton industry in the country, which saw its peak in 1984, but is now considered an ailing sector because of a sharp decline in the overall cotton production. Kenyan government allocated Sh2 billion to promote local textiles in the country through the Ministry of Industrialisation and Enterprise Development in fiscal 2015-16.
