Cotton is grown in twenty one (21) counties, which are Busia, Bungoma, Homabay, Migori, Baringo, Elgeyo Marakwet, Tharaka Nithi, Embu, Kirinyaga, Meru, Isiolo, Tana River, Lamu, Kwale, Kilifi, Taita Taveta, Machakos, Kitui, and Makueni, though there is potential in other counties such as West Pokot, Laikipia, Murang’a, Marsabit, and Turkana.
Cotton is both an industrial and a smallholder cash crop that plays a crucial role in the textile and apparel industries. It provides raw materials for ginneries and textile mills, while its by-products, such as cottonseed, are used in oil extraction and animal feed production. In Kenya, the cotton industry has historically supported livelihoods in arid and semi-arid regions, though it has experienced fluctuations due to low productivity, poor-quality seed, weak extension services, and limited investment in ginning and spinning infrastructure.
