COTTON is a big business with world production estimated at around 20 million tonnes.

It is a major crop and the most popular fabric for clothing and textiles.

It is estimated that most of the cotton is produced by China, America, India, Pakistan, Brazil and Egypt.

The cotton plant takes about 100 days to mature and producen lint.

However, harvesting is a continuous process as the plants flower and fruit at different times.

When the fruits mature, they burst to reveal masses of soft white fibres attached to the seed.

The fibres are almost 90 per cent cellulose, the bolls also contain shorter, fuzzy fibres known as linters.

In Zambia, the cotton industry has developed into the country's largest quasi-formal distribution network with over 200,000 smallholder farmers participating in various out-grower schemes.

This important sector relies almost solely on input pre-financing schemes operated by out-grower and ginning companies.

After pre-financing, the farmers buy the seed cotton produced and deduct the value of the pre-financed inputs from the money payable for the seed cotton.

According to Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EPCCI) vice-president Davies Mwanamoya, the industry is primarily driven by the private sector which sets prices and marketing arrangements.

Previously, the farmers were not organised into effective groups that could lobby and dialogue with Government and out-grower promoters.

It is in this regard that recently China -Africa Cotton Zambia Limited procured a US$ 1 million Acid Seed Delinting Plant for cotton.

Company manager Robert Bwalya said that the state-of-the-art machine was bought in China, adding that it would assist in the delinting of both bad and good cotton seed.

Most cotton producers prefer lint-free, naked cotton planting seed.