Browsing by Author "Echessa, John Elisha Verimo"

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    Factors that affect cotton production in Kenya: a case study of Busia district, Western Kenya
    (University of Dar es Salaam, 1980) Echessa, John Elisha Verimo
    This research was conducted in Busia District, Kenya, based on a random sample of 50 small-scale cotton growers interviewed between November 1977 and January 1978. Problems that face cotton cultivation and steps taken to raise production are outlined. This thesis has established that poor husbandry methods, low producer prices, poorly organized agricultural infrastructure, and inadequate extension services are some of the reasons responsible for slow progress in cotton production. These should be revised in accordance with the prevailing economic circumstances in order to stimulate production. The BPA cotton variety is grown in Busia District and takes about 41/2 months to mature. Two crops are produced during the year. The competing enterprises include groundnuts, maize, beans, and sunflowers; livestock is only a minor enterprise. The main inputs in cotton production are family labour, ox-plough for land preparation, seed, fertilizers, and spray chemicals. Production variable costs per ha based on recommendations were Kshs 1,082 and the net gross margin obtained was Kshs 518 per ha based on 1977 prices. Major constraints in production were labour, especially at planting, weeding and spraying periods, and cash to pay for the necessary inputs. Pests and weeds were the most important factors limiting cotton yields. Linear programming (LP) analysis showed that the best farming strategy does not include cotton in the system. Instead maize, beans and groundnuts are grown as cash crops in both the long and short-rains seasons. A farmer growing a minimum hectarage of cotton as recommended reduces net total gross margin by about 7 per cent from the optimal level of Kshs 8,377. It is also shown that more of the cotton crop should be grown by traditional (unsprayed) methods. Major policy recommendations are (1) continuance of growing both food and cash crops in peasant agriculture; (2) the identification and utilization of the best farming strategy by farmers, (3) research to continue in investigating the best (economic) means of achieving high yields of the cotton varieties recommended that are also resistant to pests and diseases.