Zachimalawi Facts: Cotton, Nsanje District

...Cotton productions estimates for 2012: 200,000 metric tons of lint in the season to July 2012

...2011 Cotton Production Figures: 55,000 metric tons

...Nsanje District is: 150 kilometers (94 miles) south of Blantyre, Malawi's commercial capital.

...Amount of Cotton Land in Malawi: 400,000 hectares (988,000 acres).


...Amount Spent by the Malawi Government Towards Cotton Subsidy in 2011/12 Season: 1.6 billion Malawian kwacha ($9.7 million).


...Who initiated the cotton subsidy programme: President Bingu wa Mutharika, who told parliament in June 2011 that government wanted to promote the crop.


...Why? To counter the worldwide anti-smoking lobby


...Goal: Develop cotton as Malawi's main foreign exchange earner.


...Current Position of Cotton: Malawi’s fourth-largest cash crop.



...Which crops lead: Tobacco, tea and sugar.



...Who said so?: The National Statistical Office and Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Cotton Development Association of Malawi, Development Media Africa, The Country Register/Malawi.

...2011 cotton price: 190 Kwacha per kilogram (2.2 pounds), more than double the government-set price of 75 Kwacha per kilogram.


...The future of cotton: Promising, according to Agriculture and Food Security Ministry Principal Secretary, Erica Maganga.