Nigeria can claim the number one spot in cotton production and processing in Africa if the federal and state governments harmonize policies to support its growth.
Currently, the low number of processing plants in the country and increased competition from other African producers has transitioned Nigeria from being a leading cotton producer to playing catch-up in the multibillion dollar industry.
A large field of cotton in the Northern part of Nigeria back in the day formed part of the culture and trade in the country for a long time. It was a leading revenue earner in the post-independence economy of northern Nigeria.
But decades after, Nigeria lost out of its status as a leading producer of cotton, however, the remaining cotton fields scattered across the region is indicative that a huge investment opportunity can still be maximized.
Currently, African countries such as Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Chad are the leading producers of cotton in Africa. This is in spite of the launch of the Cotton, Garment and Textile Policy by the federal government 6 years ago, with a production target of 500, 000 tones by the end of 2015 and an export value of 3 billion dollars.
This is the story of Nigeria’s cotton industry as farmers still rely on primitive methods in harvesting the crop.
For most of the farmers, cultivating the crop brings good money with a growing competition of processing plants known as cotton ginneries.
In Nigeria, there are only 22 cotton ginneries that serve the needs of the textile industry serving a market of an estimated 200 million people.
The move by the Central Bank of Nigeria to increase investment has gladdened the heart of stakeholders even though they said there is more work to be done.
They urged the federal government to be deliberate in their plan to diversify the economy and invest in the golden goose in the North.
Nigeria presently spends about 4 billion Naira annually importing textile according to the Nigeria Textile Manufacturers Association, money that could be plowed into the domestic economy.
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A revamping of cotton cultivation and strengthening of the value chain could just be the trigger to revitalize Nigeria’s ailing textile industry to the pride it once had.
(Editor: Abaje Usekwe)
