Wilson Odhiambo/IPS
NAIROBI, Apr 19 (IPS) – Kirinyaga College could have simply breathed new life into Kenya’s ailing cotton business as varsity dons develop a conveyable cotton ginnery.
For an business that has been struggling to outlive, this information got here as a reduction to cotton farmers, whose lives the invention is predicted to alter, and to a authorities pushing for job creation and self-reliance by manufacturing.
The undertaking, funded by the federal government by the Nationwide Analysis Fund (NRF), is a conveyable cotton ginning machine geared toward addressing the issues confronted by farmers, by offering them with a method to course of their cotton instantly on their farms and therefore decide their very own market costs.
The invention is the brainchild of 4 professors from Kirinyaga College: Dennis Muchangi, Grace Kiiru, David Kabata, and Agnes Mutiso.
The cotton processing business has been struggling to get better for many years since its collapse within the Nineties, regardless of Kenya boasting of being a pioneer cotton miller and having the biggest cotton gin in East Africa, Kisumu Cotton Mills (KICOMI).
The well-known KICOMI, situated in Nyanza province, has been a centre of controversy since its sudden shutdown within the Nineties. The mill, began in 1964, supplied jobs for hundreds of individuals because it was strategically situated within the nation’s largest cotton manufacturing area (served the western and Nyanza areas).
The results of this closure was a collapse within the nation’s largest cotton manufacturing area because the farmers ultimately opted for different technique of survival. In the present day, the mill stays a shell of its former glory, regardless of repeated makes an attempt by the federal government to revive it.
‘’From our analysis, we discovered that the remaining cotton ginneries within the nation have been struggling to remain open because of the excessive value of sustaining the ginneries, and those that have been in operation have been inaccessible by most cotton farmers throughout the nation,’’ mentioned Dennis Muchangi, undertaking crew chief.
‘’The closure of ginneries pressured the remaining cotton farmers to depend on middlemen to discover a marketplace for their merchandise, which meant exploitation and eventual lack of morale in cotton farming for many of them. At present, they’re pressured to promote a kilo of grade 2 cotton at Ksh. 26, whereas grade 1 goes for Ksh. 52,’’ Muchangi instructed IPS.
Kirinyaga College’s invention has introduced hope to cotton farmers, most of whom had ventured into different sources of earnings.
In keeping with the lecturers, their invention will assist the federal government increase the textile manufacturing business whereas additionally creating blue-collar jobs similar to artisans and mechanics, because the machine is straightforward to make with domestically out there materials and the designs for its manufacture will probably be made open to the general public.
‘’The transportable ginnery is sort of a easy machine with designs which might be simple to grasp for any native mechanic,’’ mentioned Muchangi. Which means that they are often inbuilt any location.
The mini ginnery is a far cry from the big business ginneries, as it’s made out of easy scrap steel and different supplies that may be discovered domestically and assembled in any work store.
‘’One other downside we famous among the many out there ginneries was upkeep delays, which led to numerous stalling and shut downs. The massive ginnery machines are costly to keep up and too advanced for native mechanics, which meant having to attend for months to get skilled engineers from Nairobi to come back and repair them. This was dangerous for the farmers and the cotton business,’’ Muchangi defined.
‘’With our machines, farmers will not have to attend for consultants and so they can as a substitute name any domestically out there mechanic.’’
Muchangi added that whereas the federal government is anticipating to spend billions to revamp the stalled ginneries, their miniature machine requires lower than Ksh. 100,000 (about USD 724) to construct and even much less to keep up.
Grace Kiiru, a undertaking member, defined that the machine can also be simple to make use of and, as soon as taught, will be operated by anybody, each women and men. This, she mentioned, will assist empower girls and the youth.
‘’Whereas the bigger ginneries require consultants to function, our machine is sort of simple to study and use and will be operated by anybody as soon as they get the fundamental information. Which means that they are often operated all through, thus boosting cotton manufacturing,’’ Kiiru instructed IPS.
The ginnery has additionally been designed to have the ability to accommodate farmers who reside in areas with restricted or no entry to electrical energy.
‘’Given that the majority farmers are present in rural areas, characterised by restricted or lack of electrical energy, we’ve got made our machine in such a approach that it may be operated manually or will be fitted with a petrol-powered generator for many who can afford it. We’re additionally engaged on enabling it to run utilizing photo voltaic vitality,’’ Kiiru mentioned.
The ginnery is sufficiently small to be transported on a bike, making it accessible even in rural areas the place motorized vehicle transport could also be an issue.
In keeping with Kiiru, the machine has the flexibility to course of as much as 500 kg of cotton in a single day, which can make it fairly worthwhile to farmers who can promote their merchandise on to the textile factories.
‘’Our intention is to assist farmers decide their very own costs by reducing out the intermediary. By processing their very own cotton, farmers will be capable of promote their product for as a lot as Ksh. 200 (USD 1.51 per kilo up from the Ksh 25 (about USD 0.19) per kilo that they’re at the moment being pressured to simply accept,’’ she defined.
Kenya at the moment depends on cotton imports to complement its textile business, a indisputable fact that Saada Mangi laments has made the price of some material excessive.
‘’Most clothes designers like myself import material from India because of the excessive value and generally lack of fabric of the identical high quality domestically. We’re pressured to promote our completed garments at excessive costs, which means we’ve got to focus on sure purchasers who can afford them,’’ Mangi mentioned.
‘’It’s unhappy to see individuals choose imported garments and supplies as a result of they’re extra inexpensive in comparison with what we make domestically. That is a part of what kills our tradition as a rustic,’’ Mangi mentioned.
‘’Rivatex Textiles, Kenya’s largest textile manufacturing facility, has needed to depend on cotton imports from nations like Egypt to maintain its calls for. Our machines will give farmers within the western and Nyanza areas a cause to renew cotton farming, which suggests no extra importation and therefore lowered costs on textile merchandise,’’ Muchangi concluded.
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