Cotton price upped by K50 this season

Tue, 02 May 2017 10:42:14 +0000

By Buumba Chimbulu

NWK Agri-services has increased its cotton buying rate by K50 for a 50 kg bale to support cotton farmers this season, company retail operations and distribution manager, Jardson Hara, has said.

Mr Hara said in an interview that his company had upped its buying rate for 50 kg of cotton to K370 from K320.

“Just as much as we support them, we are also able to buy from them, so there is ready cash for them. With this season we have even upped our buying rate from K320 to K370 per kg, so that is how we are supporting the cotton farmers,” he said.

Mr Hara also said 86, 000 cotton farmers had benefited from the NWK Agri-serivces irrigation scheme between August and May last year.

He said these farmers were from Lundazi, Chama, Chipata, Katete, Petauke, Nyimba, Monze, Gwembe, Sinazongwe, Mumbwa, Kabwe and Mpongwe.

“We have a successful project in Sinazongwe where we have an irrigation scheme of about 100 hectares of cotton. Locals have benefitted from the scheme by producing cotton and the area is drought-prone but because of the scheme they are able to irrigate their fields,” he said.

“We have extension officers employed by the company who go to assist farmers with technical knowhow to grow the commodity and they conduct regular visitations so that we grow the cotton with farmers,” Mr Hara said.

Mr Hara has urged other farmers to venture into cotton production as the crop did not require much fertiliser like other crops.

“Cotton does not need as much fertiliser as you would put in maize; then with cotton there is already a ready market, so farmers will not be stuck with the cotton,” he said.