Investor Stakes N50bn On Textile Industry Revival

In furtherance of the federal government policy directing military and para-military personnel to source their uniforms locally, a cotton processor, Mrs. Ololade Adeneye, has disclosed that N50 billion has been earmarked to set up gunnery plants in Oyo, Ogun and Ekiti states.

She requested support of federal and state governments for cotton farming, noting that the Nigeria has the capacity to supply cotton to the world.

Adeneye who stated this during the flag off of cotton recovery from beneficiaries of the CBN/NACOTAN 2019/2020 Anchor Borrower Programme for Oyo state, held in Oyo town, said the sector will soon experience rapid development.

Describing the South West’s long cotton staple as being ranked the second best in the world after Egypt, Adeneye, urged state governments in the region to show interest in the sector, to ensure cotton farmers embrace eco-friendly and other best practices in cotton farming.

Regional Manager, South West, Arewa Cotton, Mr Adebayo Olayeni, described as disheartening the fact that the South West region annually failed to produce 500 tons of cotton.

He, however, appealed to the state governments to learn from the interest of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government in textile production for the region in order to increase its production to at least 20,000 tonnes annually.

This is even as cotton farmers, under the auspices of the National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN), also urged state governments to help boost cotton farming in the country by providing hectares of land that will engender cluster farming of cotton.

In his remarks at the forum, National Public Relations Officer, NACOTAN, Mr Abdullahi Kasali, lamented that the nation continued to fail to live up to its cotton production potential owing to lack of serious policy by government to stabilise the sector as well as the scattered nature of smallholder cotton farms in the country.