There are fresh concerns over the fate of the cotton industry in the country, which has remained comatose over the years.
The cotton industry in Northern Nigeria was a thriving sector that contributed greatly to the economy of the region in the past.
Cotton farming was a major source of income to farmers and traders alike as it provided raw materials for textile industries and generated employment for thousands of people.
Unfortunately, the once-booming cotton industry has collapsed, leading to the closure of hundreds of ginneries and the loss of thousands of jobs.
The reasons for the collapse are many, including poor government policies, climate change, lack of access to modern farming techniques, and the influx of cheaper cotton imports.
Thousands of farmers and traders who depended on the industry for their livelihoods have been left stranded, and the economy of the region has suffered a major blow.
LEADERSHIP’s investigation in the major cotton producing and processing states in the region showed that the ginneries which once bought and processed cotton for the textile companies in Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto and Zamfara states have packed up.
Also, farmers in these states, who used to produce and supply the ginneries, had abandoned their farms due to poor patronage.
In Kano State alone, the number of cotton farmers peaked at 26,000 in 2019 and dropped to 24,500 in 2020. Most of them were beneficiaries of Anchor Borrowers’ Programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The state project manager of National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN), Kano State branch, Ibrahim Abdulhamid in a telephone interview with LEADERSHIP said, “In 2019, when there was government intervention, 26,000 farmers were engaged in cotton farming while in 2020, 24,500 farmers participated, but currently, one can hardly get 2,000 farmers in the business in the state.
LEADERSHIP’s findings showed that the trend is the same in other states.
Consequently, Nigeria is no longer among the top cotton producers in Africa.
According to mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/africa-cotton-market, cotton is almost entirely cultivated by smallholder farmers in Africa, with very few major plantations. Cotton is frequently farmed as a supplemental commercial crop alongside staples grown for subsistence.
However, only in a few places in Africa is the genetically modified cotton crop permitted to grow. Smallholder farmers exclusively plant genetically modified cotton in South Africa, Sudan, and Burkina Faso in Sub-Saharan Africa. African cotton farmed by smallholder farmers is primarily hand-picked, ensuring its high quality.
Benin, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Ivory Coast are the highest cotton-producing countries in Africa and account for about 50 percent of the region’s produce.
The major importers of African cotton are Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Malaysia. Cotton grows well in a warm and moist climate where summer is long and where there is salinity in the soil. This makes sub-Sahara Africa one of the largest cotton producers worldwide.
The director of extension at the Kano State Agricultural and Rural
Development Authority, Gambo Isa Garko, also confirmed the decline in cotton production in the state which he attributed to pests and lack of improved seed varieties.
He said cotton which is mainly produced during the rainy season had a boost in the state in 2019 and 2020 when the last administration through the Central Bank of Nigeria’s anchor borrowers programme gave farmers support.
According to him, when the farmers got the intervention, there was large production and when it stopped farmers stopped also.
“That time, a lot of companies were supported to revitalise their companies, but in the end the companies said they could not produce cotton at a very good price when they could not get it at a particular price; then the farmers had to stop production because the price was low.
“As a result of that, most of the ginneries and some companies closed down while on the side of the farmers, some stopped production. The problem even extended to some chemical and seed industries as well as the labour market; all were out of business.
“There are not enough farmers to produce the cotton for the ginneries,” he stated. Asked if there are efforts at reviving the ginneries at the state level, Garko said in the last two years, the government did so under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, but currently, the state is yet to come up with any such revival plans for now.
The state project manager of National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN), Kano branch, Ibrahim Abdulhamid, in a telephone interview with LEADERSHIP, lamented the low production rate of the produce two years after government intervention. He said cotton farming had dropped by almost 70 percent in the state, a situation which he attributed to inadequate extension services and funding, and insecurity in some regions in the state. He said areas like Gwarzo and Karaye which share boundaries with Katsina are not much into the business as a result of bandits’ activities and general insecurity.
The director of industry, Kano State Ministry of Investment, Commerce and Industry Mamoud Bala, described the state of cotton industries as pathetic as most of the companies had closed down almost completely. He explained that unlike now, places like Bompai, Sharada, and Chalawa boomed with so many textile industries that used cotton as raw materials but now they have shut operation.
He attributed the shutdown to inadequate power, smuggling and importation of raw textile materials from China and other countries.
“If you have off-takers, there is no way farmers will not grow cotton because farmers will always farm; the problem is the importation of these materials from outside. I am sure it is part of what has contributed to closure of most of these industries,” he said.
Revived Katsina Ginneries Operating At Low Capacity
In a bid to revive cotton production to serve as raw materials for industries, farmers in Katsina State have commenced dry-season cotton farming.
This is in line with Governor Dikko Umaru Radda’s administration’s strategy of exploring modern farming to generate revenue and boost the socio- economic well-being of the state.
The state chairman of the All Farmers’ Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Umar Ya’u Gwajo-Gwajo, who gave this hint while interacting with our correspondent in Katsina, said already efforts had been intensified by the government through the association to empower farmers who were trained in modern irrigation skills for agricultural production.
He explained that the intention is to utilise the cotton value chain to produce for the benefit of both the farmers and the government. According him, extension workers were recently recruited by the government to actualise the plan.
Similarly, the state commissioner for commerce, trade and investment, Adnan Nahabu, also confirmed the state’s collaboration with the Bank of Industry and the farmers to strengthen cotton production and, in particular, cotton industries, adding that the state’s ginneries are still functioning though not optimal.
Kwara Growers Seek Support To Improve Productivity
Cotton farmers in Kwara State have appealed to the state government to help them with the supply of fertiliser and insecticides to improve their yield.
The cotton farmers who are found only in Kwara north, specifically in Baruten and Kaiama local government areas, made the appeal during an interview with LEADERSHIP in Ilorin, the state capital.
They spoke through the state chairman of the Association of Nigerian Farmers, Hon. Umar Mahmud Aboki, who is also a cotton farmer.
Aboki, who said there is no demand for cotton in the state, added that “people come from far north to buy our cotton. “We also have various associations that help us to market and sell cotton.”
LEADERSHIP reports that the Kwara Textile Industry, which used to be the primary market for the cotton industry in the state, has gone comatose since the era of military rule in the country.
Meanwhile, the special adviser to the governor on media, Alhaji Bashir Adigun said the government had always assisted farmers, cotton farmers inclusive, with farm inputs, especially highly subsidised fertiliser, to improve their output..
He said the state governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, had passion for agriculture and is creating an enabling environment for farmers through various intervention programmes in the sector.
Attempts to locate even a relic of a ginnery, where cotton is separated from the seed, in Sokoto State, is like a proverbial camel passing through the eye of the needle.
Sani Tangaza, 54, who narrated that he grew to meet his late father, Alhaji Sani Abdullahi, in the business of farming and trading in cotton, said: “Gone are the days when cotton farming was buoyant. My father would sell harvested cotton on his farm, up to Funtua, in Katsina State.
“Today, what we had as an expanse of land for cotton farming has gone. Cotton farming started depreciating because our garment industries began to experience a downturn in production.
“The multiplier effect is unimaginable. The cotton ginneries and warehouses, especially in Funtua, are now dilapidated. Youths who could have been helping hands on the farm as growers, weeders and harvesters are jobless, with many of them resorting to commercial motorcycle and tricycle riding,” he said.
Those who spoke to EADERSHIP said it is for the 19 state governments in the region to collaborate towards reviving the cotton industry. This can be done by providing incentives for cotton farmers and traders, investing in modern farming techniques, and creating a conducive business environment for textile industries.
According to them, the revival of the cotton industry in Northern Nigeria will not only provide jobs and income for thousands of people but will also help to boost the economy of the region.