Researchers develop portable cotton ginnery
Researchers develop portable cotton ginnery
Researchers at Kirinyaga University have created a multifunctional, portable cotton ginning device that will increase farmers’ profits. The micro-ginnery’s oil extractor component, according to lead researcher Dr. Dennis Muchangi, will separate seeds from lint and guarantee that farmers receive a fair price for their cotton.
Prior to being expanded to further cotton-growing regions in Kisumu, Busia, Lamu, Makueni, and Meru, the initiative is being evaluated in two counties: Kirinyaga (Murinduko) and Embu (Kanyuambora).
“In the counties of Kirinyaga and Embu, we are in the pilot stage. Cotton producers will employ the portable ginning machine on their farms, according to Dr. Muchangi.The National Research Fund (NRF) of the State and the FID of the French government provided the project’s initial funding for the development of a prototype.
The farmers are testing a gin that can run on electricity and gasoline. “We’re in the pilot stage of the gin prototype. Dr. Muchangi stated, “We want a machine that can gin cotton using solar power or one that a farmer can operate by hand.
With the machine, the farmer can make more money from the raw cotton that goes for between Sh25 and Sh50 depending on the grade. However, when the cotton is ginned on the farm, the farmer can sell it for between Sh200 and Sh250 per kilogramme.Cotton seeds can also be sold at Sh40.
Daniel Magondu, a small-scale cotton farmer and chairperson of the Society for Biotechnology Farming of Kenya said initially, farmers from the region used to plant conventional cotton which was susceptible to pests.
“The difference between traditional cotton farming and BT cotton is how farmers manage pests where the farmer applies cotton control three times instead of 12 times,” he said.
As a farmer, this is the first time I’ve seen a mini-gin that can be utilized on the property. Unlike before, when we had to take our cotton to the buying center, a farmer can now choose, place, and finish ginning,” stated Magondu.
A farmer can extract oil from cotton seeds by sending lint to cotton millers after ginning, and the cotton cake can then be fed to the animals.
The micro-ginnery will cut out the middlemen from the value chain of cotton farming, according to researcher Dr. Agnes Mutiso. It is anticipated that the project will also train farmers, particularly women farmers, to enable them to add value to cotton.
Another member of the study team, Dr. Grace Kiiru, stated that the company is working with ginseries like Rivatex and Thika Textile, who are prepared to purchase lint from farmers.”The project is not aimed at killing the existing ginneries but to ensure the farmer gets money from their hard work,” stated Dr. Kiiru.
