Nigeria’s Moribund Textile Industry: Stakeholders urge farmers to adopt Bt Cotton

This disclosure was made in Abuja during the just concluded workshop for cotton farmers, which was organized by the National Agricultural Biotechnology Development Agency, the Open Forum for Agriculture Biotechnology (OFAB), Nigeria Chapter in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN).Speaking during the workshop, one of the stakeholders, Mr. Ravi Kumar, the Business Manager of Mahyco Nigeria Agricultural Seed Company, disclosed that there is already a good variety of the seed, called Bollgard 2 cotton hybrids in the market, for the advantage of farmers.

He also informed participants that the variety ensures farmers have less labour requirements in spraying, as it is insect-resistant and have the capacity for high yields.

According to him, about 300,000 grammes of seeds have been distributed to cotton farmers across 12 states of Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Niger, Kaduna, Kano, Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa, Taraba and Cross River.

In his remarks, the Director General of NABDA, Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha, said that while the Nigerian government remains committed to reviving the textile industry through a reinvigorated cotton farming system, it is also monitoring to ensure that seed companies do not compromise the quality required for the desired high yields.

Prof. Mustapha who called on farmers to adopt the Bt cotton assured them that the variety already released into the market is safe for the environment.

“These varieties of Bt Cotton are suitable for cultivation in all of Nigeria’s cotton-growing zones.

“Bt Cotton varieties will save farmers the trouble of contending with the local conventional variety, which is no longer accepted at the international markets,”he explained.

He asserted that recent initiatives to improve the contribution of the agricultural sector to Nigeria’s economic growth have emphasized the importance of cotton production in stimulating the economy.

Bt Cotton, therefore, raises hope for textile industry revival as the commercialization has started a revolution that will help Nigeria in its cotton productivity deficit.

“The stage has been set for self-sufficiency in the production of cotton as industrial raw material with the subsequent transformation of the textile industry.

“The productivity data of the improved varieties of cotton obtained from farmers’ fields has raised the hope that the moribund textile industry in Nigeria would soon come alive. 

“The value chain of cotton from the farmers to processors to cottage industry workers to the spinning and textile industry will also create job openings that the government is clamouring for.

“Jobs will be created, wealth generated, the ginneries reactivated, and Nigeria will be able to export cotton to other countries of the world as well as become a global trade player,”he added.

Also speaking, the Director-General of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), Dr. Rufus Ebegba, said that government agencies involved in biotechnology and biosafety issues give diligent attention to cotton seeds, as it is a major cash crop in the country.

“Bt Cotton is a product of modern biotechnology.

“And the government of Nigeria, through the NBMA has put in place world class system to protect the interest of Nigerians and the environment in the application of modern biotechnology and use of GMOs,” said Ebegba.

Meanwhile, the National President of Cotton Farmers’ Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN), Achimugu Anibe, in his opening remark, attested that “farmers have witnessed productivity and high yield since the advent of Bt cotton.”