Vision 2030 identifies cotton as one of the most critical sectors of the economy. In 1985, Kenya used to produce 70,000 bales of cotton. This declined to about 20,000 bales in 2013, while Tanzania and Uganda produced 700,000 and 400,000 bales.
But with the planned introduction of genetically modified seeds, farmers are expecting better yields. Since introduction of cotton in Kenya in 1902 by the British colonial administration, the government has played a key role that ensured sustainability. In the 1960s and 1970s, the government provided a lot of support in the form of a well-organised marketing system and timely payments. In addition it also invested in a number of textile mills, such as Kisumu Cotton Mills and Rift Valley Textiles.
Until 1991, the Cotton Board of Kenya controlled the industry. In 1991, the government liberalised the sector and allowed private investors to participate. Subsequently, government support started declining, resulting in the dwindling in cotton production. Ever since, the country became a destination of second-hand clothing. Kenya imports more than 80 million pieces of second-hand clothing and distributes not only domestically but in Eastern and Central Africa.
Africa produces just more than 5.58 per cent of the world's total cotton fibre and only converts a paltry 30 per cent into yarn, fabric and apparel for domestic and regional consumption.
Interestingly, AfricaΆs cotton is preferred by manufacturers in Asia and other areas due to its high quality. This cotton is spun and woven in Asia, converted into apparels and shipped to Western countries to be worn for two to three years and shipped back into Africa as used clothing to clothe 70 per cent of Africans. Going for second-hand clothing only serves to deprive millions of Africans of their dignity.
Cotton is currently cultivated in arid and semi-arid areas. It is grown mainly by small-scale farmers in Western, Nyanza, the Rift Valley, Eastern and Coast by an estimated 200,000 farmers. The crop is grown on holdings of less than one hectare. Enabling small-scale farmers and producers to leverage the commercial value of their products is essential to enhancing livelihoods in rural Kenya.
Kenya should strategise on how to earn valuable foreign exchange from the global cotton trade, which is in excess of $500 billion (Sh51 billion). This can only be achieved if we emulate the success stories of other African countries such as Egypt.
Egypt has leveraged on Intellectual Property strategy successfully. In 2001, the Egyptian government developed a logo consisting of figurative elements, the drawing of a cotton flower and the words 'Egyptian Cotton', to promote and increase the export of cotton products. The government protected the logo as a certification mark in the US. The mark applies for cotton products such as bed sheets, bed linen, quilts, comforters. The logo is also trademark-protected in some European countries such as Denmark. In the United Kingdom, the logo is registered as a trademark and can be used only for raw cotton of Egyptian origin.
Today, cotton exports make significant contributions to the Egyptian national revenue. Cotton exports, however, have been exposed to difficult situations in the global market due to competition from foreign producers, cotton subsidies in other countries and the global financial crisis. Despite the constraints, Egyptian cotton continues to maintain a premium spot in the global market thanks to its unique and superior quality, which is easily recognised and identified by customers through the protected name and logo.
To succeed in Kenya, such commercial value proposition can be achieved through the use of various intellectual property tools relevant to branding. This will enable farmers to maintain and enhance the reputation and goodwill of Kenyan cotton by putting in place a quality control and certification system that will enable a range of actors involved in the supply chain to use the brand. The cotton can be protected as a certification mark, a collective mark, a trademark or a geographical indication so as to share in the benefits derived from marketing a unique, high-value product.
However, the Geographical Indications Bill, meant to protect geographical indications and which promises to bring additional opportunities to leverage the value of KenyaΆs cotton and other agricultural products, has been in limbo for the past 15 years. Parliament should hasten and pass this bill into law for the benefit of farmers.
