SAMARA UNIVERSITY RESEARCH & PUBLICATION
DIRECTORATE
History and Status of Commercial Cotton Production in
Ethiopia with Emphasis in Afar Regional State
Consultative Workshop on Natural Fibers
Mohammed Abate (PhD)
20 Nov, 2023
Afar, Ethiopia
1. INTRODUCTION
♠ Cotton is the oldest known fiber crop classified under the genus Gossypium.
♠ The four cultivated spp. of cotton are G. arboreum, G. herbaceum, G.
hirsutum and G. barbadense
♠ The first two are diploid (2n=26) and are native to Old World, while the last
are tetraploid (2n=52) and are known as New World Cottons
♠ G. hirsutum also known as upland cotton is the predominant spp. which
alone contributes about 90% of the world production
♠ Recently, improved varieties of barbadense (Pima cotton) have released
with advanced quality and yield over the hirsutum (WARC, 2020). It has got
wide acceptance by the growers in the Awash valley.
1.1 History of Cotton in Ethiopia
♠ Ethiopia is believed to be one of the origins of cotton and its cultivation
is deeply rooted in the history of the country’s agriculture.
♠ Cotton has been cultivated in Ethiopia for centuries and is extensively
grown in the lowlands under irrigation & rain-fed on small-scale &
large-scale farms
♠ Before the revolution, large-scale commercial cotton plantations were
developed in the Awash Valley and the Humera areas.
♠ The Tendaho Cotton Plantation in the lower Awash Valley was one of
largest cotton plantations in Ethiopia.
♠ Ethiopia has a long history of hand spinning and weaving, and was
once the most important center for handmade cloths in Africa.
1.2 Economic Importance
Ethiopia produces cotton both for local consumption and export markets
Cotton plays a vital role in the country’s economy by providing
employment opportunities from farming, processing mills, textiles,
garments, and weaving
Apart from providing raw lint to textile industries, the seed is used as
sources of edible oil for human consumption
The byproducts like the seedcake used for animal fattening, and the stalk
for fuel
The textile industry offered various businesses across different stages,
including production, processing, spinning, weaving & marketing
Its significance extends beyond: the remaining stem used for keeping soil
moisture, as dry season feed, and shelter construction (BPAD, 2015).
1.3 Agronomy
♠ Cotton is widely cultivated in the tropics and subtropics hot and dry
regions of the world
♠ It is basically a crop of warmer climates, where a good yield is
obtained in areas from sea level to about 1000 m.a.s.l (EIA, 2016).
♠ The optimum temperature for cotton germination ranges between
270C and 350C, for vegetative growth, bud formation and flowering
♠ Day time temperature should be higher than 250C., Temp between 29
& 350C are optimum for boll formation and maturity.
♠ High humid cloudy weather, or elongated rain cause excessive
vegetative growth, leading to lodging, boll rot & insect attacks.
♠ Suitable soil type is dark-brown Eutric fluvisol, moderately drained.
2. Objectives
The aim of this review is to provide information based on
primary and secondary data, which are related to:
The country’s potential for cotton production
The trends and status of cotton production in Ethiopia.
The multidimensional challenges facing the country’s cotton
production
Show the gaps b/n demand & supply and marketing systems
The way forward and future initiatives in the sector
3. Production Status
♠ World cotton production in 2022/23 was 24.0 MMts. The leading
producers were USA, Brazil, India & China, w/c accounted for about
¾th of world’s output
♠ The top cotton producers in Africa are Egypt, Tanzania, Chad, Mali,
Benin & Burkina-Faso, where Ethiopia shares only 5% of the total
production.
♠ Ethiopia endowed favorable conditions for cotton cultivation, with
about 3 millions ha of suitable land for production
♠ However, despite the vast potential, only 3 % of it is currently
utilized for cotton. Consequently, the total cotton output remains
significantly below the potential.
Production …
♠ The total lint cotton produced in Ethiopia in 2022/23 was 69,000
Mts, showing a 19% growth from 2019/20 (57,000 Mts)
♠ In this year, 99% was consumed by domestic industries (FAS, 2023).
♠ Generally, production showed a declining trend since 2012 (Figure 1).
♠ Majority of irrigated cotton cultivated in areas of the Awash Valleys,
and some rainfed in Arbaminch, Gambela, Humera and Benishangul
lowlands
♠ The Middle Awash region is one of the cotton belt areas in Ethiopia
and WARC is the national cotton coordinating center
Production …
Production …
♠ Despite good harvests in 2020, farm labor has posed a serious
problem on commercial farms
♠ Several large-scale farms in Amhara, Benshagul, Gambela and
Afar regions were hit by severe labor shortage and were unable to
collect their harvests on time
♠ According to WARC (2024) about 40% of cotton harvests were
wasted or not collected on time
♠ The reason for labor shortage was related with erratic security
problems due to violence conflicts across regions
Table 2. Area and production Volume of Lint Cotton (2011-20)
4. History of Commercial Cotton Production in Afar
♠ Afar region has excellent cotton growing conditions and enormous land
potentially suitable for cotton production
♠ Most of the cotton grown in the country is in and around the Awash
Valleys.
♠ The Afar cotton had been taken the largest part in the national as well as
export market (FAS, 2018).
♠ However, the current domestic cotton production is much below the
potential, caused mainly by:
► a decrease in production areas following the transition of the cotton
production areas to sugar-cane plantation units by the M. Industry.
Continued...
♠ The primary reason underlying the decline in production was that the GoE
had placed great emphasis on ramping up sugar production with the intent of
making the country the world’s top 10 sugar producers (MDG, 2013)
♠ The Tendaho cotton farm, which previously was one of the country’s largest
cotton enterprise, has been converted to sugar plantation.
♠ In addition, several other small cotton operations, like Kassam, Kuraz, etc.,
have switched to sugar production
♠ Meantime, consumption has forecast to exceed domestic cotton production
largely due to the demands of the rapidly expanding textile industries
♠ In 2019/20, demand was forecasted to be 64,000Mt. b/s of this about 12,000
Mt lint cotton was imported from US to fill the gap.
Continued...
In addition to the prevailing social and political factors, the Afar cotton
production is affected by several interlinked factors, such as:
Lack of high yielding improved varieties
Deterioration of the existing older varieties
Inappropriate agronomic practices
Shortage of human labour
Pest and disease attacks
Continued...
♠ Despite all these, research efforts on breeding new varieties and
appropriate agronomic practices suited to the local area are still behind
♠ Research focuses in the past were owing to almost yield enhancement,
neglecting the fiber quality
♠ Thus, a full understanding and appreciation of all challenges hindering
the yield of cotton is vital for the revitalization of commercial cotton
production in Afar.
5. Challenges of the Cotton Industry in Ethiopia
Some of the major problems hindering the existing efforts are:
♠ Quality of inputs – low yielding inferior varieties
♠ Climate change effects: heat, drought, floods
♠ Shortage of labor (serious) - Insecurity and increased
urbanization
♠ Pests - causing higher yield losses and quality degradation
♠ Land Tenure rights - can negatively impact cotton production
♠ Poor market linkages - lack of proper market chain system
6. Demand and Consumption Patterns
♠ Cotton demand and consumption in Ethiopia has been increasing,
driven by the country's growing textile and apparel industry
♠ In 2020/21, Ethiopia's total cotton consumption was 68,899 Mts, a
7.27% increase from the previous year, i.e., 64,000.
♠ This increase was due to the growing demand of the country's
textile and apparel industry, as well as the handloom
♠ In 2016/17, Ethio imported 13,716 Mts cotton, but it decreased to
6,531 Mts from 2018/19, and again raised to 12,000 in 2019/20
♠ However, import is expected to keep increasing to 36.5 % till
2026.
7. Cotton Market Trend in Ethiopia
♠ The Ethiopian Industrial Input Development Enterprise (EIIDE) is
mandated to bridge the supply and demand gaps of industrial inputs
♠ The larger factories can have the option of directly buying from
farmers
♠ Recently, cotton producers have obtained a right to export markets
after the cotton export ban has lifted
♠ According to (ERCA, 2016), Ethiopia earned about 10.08 million USD
in the year 2006/07-2010/11.
♠ But there were dramatic decline of export income from 10.6 M.USD in
2010 to 0.5 M.USD in 2011.
Cotton Market Trend…
♠ The declined was because Ethiopia banned exports of cotton in 2010 to
protect domestic textile firms from high foreign currency.
♠ However, the ban was not successful to meet intended goal as most
factories needed higher grade cotton, that, they had to import
♠ In 2015 the average price of Ethiopian cotton was $1.62/kg and in 2018
it was fall down to $1.45 following the October 2017 devaluation of
Ethiopian currency (USDA, 2018)
♠ Since last decade, consumption has risen significantly due to the
increased demand of the emerging textile and apparel industries
♠ Therefore, the government, producers and other relevant stakeholders
should work in collaboration to solve the constraints.
8. Varieties and Breeding Efforts
♠ WARC had established in 1964 with a mandate to develop
varieties, that are suitable to different agroecology of the country,
♠ Has released 22 varieties: 17 hybrids for irrigated and 5 varieties
for rain-fed areas (Bedane & Arkebe, 2019),
♠ Currently 96 % of the cotton varieties grown in the country are of
the upland type, with DP-90 covers 80%, followed by Stam 59A
(15%) and Acala SJ2 (0.5 %)
♠ WARC is engaged in multiplying and releasing cotton pre basic
seeds based on the Ethiopian standards.
Commercial cotton cultivars cultivated in Awash valleys
No Varieties Released Lint yield Maturity M.H.L Origin
year q/ha days (mm)
1 Woyto 07 1994 46.2 180 25 WARC
2 werer 12 1996 44.3 165 28 WARC
3 Werer 13 1996 48.9 180 26 WARC
4 Sile -13 1997 47.6 170 31 WARC
5 BT- cotton 1998 60 180 28 Mexico
6 Stam-59A 1995 39.5 180 23 USA
7 DP- 90 1990 40.4 180 18 USA
9. The way forward
Government support in implementing a privatization initiative to
attract foreign and private enterprises to develop the sector
Proper market linkages between cotton producers (smallholder,
large-scale commercial farmers, coop unions) and industries
Amenable actions on land right issues, access to finance, research
and technical trainings on agronomy and farm management
Due efforts to advance contract farming and out-grower initiatives
would allow farmers to obtain relatively better access to market
Improved seeds, agrochemicals, farm machinery, ginneries and
textile mills and spare parts
The way forward…
♠ The GoE envisions making Ethiopia the textile and apparel manufacturing hub
of Africa with annual exports of $30 billion by 2025
♠ ECDA under the NCDS: has revealed st plans to make Ethiopia one of the
world’s top cotton producers until 2032 with annual production of 1.1 MMts
♠ IBE approved commercialization of Bt cotton in order to boost yields and
production
♠ Two varieties of Bt cotton JKCH 1050 and JKC 1947 for commercial
cultivation
♠ There is a plan to import additional Bt cottons from India and about 800 ha of
land is planned for Bt cotton nersary trial.
