The recent historic commercial planting of cotton in the province could signal its intent to become the province producing the most cotton says the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC).

ECDC project development specialist Ken Bern who is spearheading the corporation’s cotton initiatives says the corporation, in collaboration with its partners, is investigating the feasibility of replicating the province’s cotton project three-fold. This would raise the area’s production to 100 000 bales or 50 per cent of the 200 000 currently imported bales of cotton which would result in new jobs increasing by 300 per cent to 20 000.

Furthermore, a substantially expanded project would greatly improve the country’s current cotton production which now only stands at 140 000 bales.

Currently, ECDC, together with partner Eastern Cape textile manufacturer Da Gama, have limited the phase one planting over three years to 6 000 hectares or 30 000 bales and five areas in the province. A further 10 sites are under trial.

Bern says negotiations with the provincial Department of Agriculture are already underway to assess the viability of an expanded project.

“And this demand hasn’t factored in projected growth in cotton consumption,” says Bern.

He says that an expanded cotton growing project in the province will have widespread benefits. Furthermore, the effect on black economic empowerment will be enormous.

The Eastern Cape’s cotton initiative is one of the industry’s first empowerment agri-processing projects and primarily targets black subsistence farmers who sell crops in dollar-denominated prices, one of only a handful crops that is able to do so.

Furthermore, the province’s job creation efforts will be boosted if the expanded project is to get underway. Conservative estimates project one job created for every hectare under plantation.

The initiative will go some way to amortise the province’s job losses in the sector explains Bern.

“Understandably, these jobs aren’t in manufacturing but the creation of jobs in the same sector should go some way in making the sector’s job losses less painful,” explains Bern.

In the past 10 years, South Africa has lost 149 000 jobs in the clothing and textile sector. Through the expanded project, new agricultural jobs could exceed the loss in the textile sector, and more particularly in the garment industry

In addition, more job opportunities will be created for SMMEs who want to transport cotton from the fields to the cotton gin in Adelaide.

But Bern warns that the key to unlocking the province’s potential lies in ensuring that the first project is sufficiently nurtured and is successful.

“This project has much in its favour. A lot of commitment is being shown by all the parties. Equally important, trial harvests show the yield and quality of cotton has been ‘above average’. We are also investing a lot of time and effort in ensuring that farmers have the support they require. Lastly, the project has garnered much goodwill and this can only be in its favour.”