More than 300 cooperatives scattered across Lango Sub-region have collapsed after the growers involved decided to stop growing cotton, heavily affecting the value chain of this traditional cash crop. In the past, cotton was considered second only to coffee in its ability to alleviate rural poverty in Uganda but many farmers have abandoned it following the emergence of soybeans and a new maize seed variety, known as DK 777.
Competition from other better-paying crops such as sunflower, sesame, rice, maize, beans, soya, cassava and vegetables is another reason for low production of cotton in northern Uganda, according to Daniel Omara Atubo, a former Lands minster, and Member of Parliament for Otuke County.
Source: monitor.co.ug