The Savannah Agricultural Research Institute of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-SARI) has introduced new and improved hybrid cotton varieties, in an effort to revamp the country’s cotton industry.
The new seed variety, which has been released to farmers, offer higher yields than the existing ones, and is expected to support the government’s agenda to revive local cotton production. It will also go a long way to help meet the raw material demands of local textile manufacturers.
Dr. Emmanuel Chamba, a Principal Investigator on the project at SARI, disclosed to the B&FT that the institute is to also start a commercial cotton seed breeding programmes, which he said will help provide the seedlings needs of farmers for the next four years.
According to him, the institute, in collaboration with Wienco Cotton, is evaluating the germplasm of the new seed variety with some selected farmers, to ensure that only quality seeds are produced and supplied to farmers.
“The collapse of the cotton sector has had a rippling effect on other sectors of the economy, especially the local textiles industry. So many people have lost their jobs because these factories are sourcing raw outside the country at a much higher price, which goes to increase their cost of production.
Thebftonline