APPROXIMATELY 227,000 smallholder farmers produce almost 95 per cent of Zambia’s cotton, utilising 254,000 hectares of land.
The cotton industry has developed to be one of the country’s largest quasi-formal distribution networks with some smallholder farmers participating in the various out-grower schemes.
Most of Zambia’s cotton is produced by smallholder farmers in Eastern, Central, Southern, Lusaka, Northern and Western provinces.
The industry accounts for around 1,200 full-time employees and 1,700 others on part-time.
This demonstrates its importance to the growth of the agriculture sector.
It is therefore important to mention that this industry is operated by ginning companies that finance the farmers with loans to procure inputs.
This is so because many factors limit the ability of smallholder farmers to boost their productivity and make the transition from subsistence farming to market.
They commonly lack security of tenure over the land they farm, restricting the investment they are willing or able to make in improving land.
They also typically lack access to productivity-enhancing inputs such as improved seed, fertilisers, water and information or to the credit needed to finance investment in these inputs.
As a result, smallholder farmers are unable to deliver the volume and quality of produce that commercial buyers, retailers, processors and other agri-business firms require, which in turn, limits the development of markets for agricultural produce.
Hence, the ginning companies provide out-grower schemes to the farmers to help them overcome these obstacles.
For example, Dunavant and Clark Cotton companies have developed strong out-grower programmes for seed cotton farmers which necessitated the yields to increase from 500 to 600 kilogrammes (Kg) in 2000  and 700 to 800 Kg per hectare in 2001.
The Zambian climate and its general altitude of 750 square metres to 1,200 m create an environment favourable for growing cotton.
Despite having strong out-grower programmes, the industry experienced some challenges, particularly lint prices.
The country’s cotton production has been on the decline since the 2011/2012 season when the country posted the highest figure of 275,000 tonnes due to the increased lint prices on the global market and high producer prices paid to farmers in the previous season.
This year, production is expected to go up as announced recently by Zambia Cotton Ginners Association (ZCGA).
ZCGA executive secretary Bourne Chooka, attributed the increase in production to the rise in the number of farmers and hectares planted during the period under review.
“In the 2012/2013 season, the country produced about 102,000 tonnes but, in the 2013/2014 season, production declined to about 95,000 tonnes.
“This may be attributed to low national productivity levels, high cost of production for inputs and ginning costs and competition among ginners as all end up chasing a small crop,” Mr Chooka says.
It is expected that cotton production will increase to 130,000 tonnes during the 2014/15 season from 95,000 tonnes the previous season due to   the rise in the number of farmers and hectares planted in the season under review.
He says all ginning companies have already distributed woolpacks to all their contracted farmers for packaging.
“The cotton marketing season has commenced for the 2014/15 season. We are ready and are looking forward to a successful marketing season.
The country is also expecting to buy about 130,000 tonnes of cotton compared to the previous season when only 95,000 tonnes of cotton was bought,” Mr Chooka says. There was a sad development in the relationship between the grower and buyer in mid-year 2012 when cotton farmers in Petauke district in Eastern Province burnt cotton weighing 11,300 kilogrammes and valued at K17.6 million, belonging to some ginning firm.
The farmers were reported to have been infuriated by the low prices the firm was offering for the commodity.
Two years down the line, the scenario has not changed much since the pricing of cotton is still haphazard, a situation farmers have
identified as one of the contributing factors to the drop in cotton production in the country.
Smallholder farmers in Gwembe in Southern Province Sydney Simwiinga said it is depressing to see that the ginners have taken advantage of farmers compared to cotton farmers in countries like Zimbabwe.
It is against that backdrop that cotton farmers in Eastern Province have withheld their produce because of the poor price being offered by the ginners.
Cotton Association of Zambia (CAZ) board member, Michael Banda says that there was nothing wrong with farmers not selling their cotton if they were not happy with the buying price.
Mr Banda, who is former CAZ vice-chairperson, said that it was important for farmers to study the market, especially if there are signs that the prices could be reviewed upwards.
He says that the buying price offered by cotton buying companies reflect a true picture of what was currently prevailing on the international market.
He explains that cotton prices on the international market have gone down.
Mr Banda, however, says cotton companies should not have the same buying price because each company has its own expenditure. Cotton farmers have complained that the K2.40 being offered for one kilogramme of cotton was lower than the price for last marketing season. CBZ board secretary Dafulin Kaonga said the board will bring sanity to the cotton sector at crop marketing and enforce sanctity of contracts to protect the huge investments in the sector by the ginning companies.
Mable Mwale, a small-scale cotton farmer in Mumbwa says it is critical for farmers to finance themselves or engage in contract farming. The best way will be for Government to finance cotton farmers instead of leaving it to ginners who are taking advantage of their vulnerability.