Efforts to revive Ghana’s once-thriving textile industry risk stalling unless the government establishes a National Cotton Development Authority to anchor domestic cottonseed production and integrate the entire value chain, the Legacy Crop Improvement Centre (LCIC) has cautioned.
The Centre warned that without urgent investment in local cottonseed development, the country’s textile revival agenda would remain fragile, stressing that the absence of a stable and reliable seed system continues to be the industry’s most critical bottleneck.
In a letter addressed to the Minister of Trade, Industry and Agribusiness, LCIC argued that current strategies aimed at revitalising the textile sector overlook its foundational input cotton, rendering the effort ineffective without a robust seed production framework.
“The textile industry does not begin at the factory floor; it begins on the farm. No seeds, no threads,” said Dr. Amos Rutherford Azinu, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of LCIC.
Once a regional leader in textile manufacturing, Ghana’s industry now depends heavily on imported cotton to sustain production.
Industry analysts describe the textile and garment sector as a strategic growth area, driven by African prints such as wax and batik, as well as apparel produced for local, regional, and U.S. markets under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
However, LCIC cautioned that reliance on imported raw materials exposes manufacturers to global price volatility, exchange rate pressures, and supply chain disruptions, undermining long-term competitiveness.
“We are attempting to rebuild the roof while ignoring the crumbling foundation,” Dr. Azinu noted.
The Centre highlighted the benefits of developing a domestic cottonseed and farming ecosystem, including greater economic independence, job creation in rural communities, full value chain integration, agricultural diversification, and stronger quality control across textile production.
According to LCIC, cotton farming and seed production could generate sustainable income for thousands of rural households while supplying factories with consistent, high-quality raw materials.
The Centre also identified several structural gaps in Ghana’s textile revival strategy, including weak research capacity, inadequate agricultural extension services, obsolete ginning facilities, poor logistics infrastructure, limited farmer cooperatives, ineffective pricing mechanisms, and insufficient technical training.
To address these challenges, LCIC urged the government to establish a National Cotton Development Authority with a clear mandate, strong coordination powers, and adequate funding to oversee seed development, farmer support, processing infrastructure, and market linkages.
Dr. Azinu pointed to the experiences of leading Asian textile exporters as instructive examples.
“Countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam did not become global textile exporters by importing all their raw materials,” he said. “They built integrated value chains that linked farms directly to factories. Ghana can and must do the same.”
He stressed that Ghana’s textile revival would only deliver lasting impact if it is anchored in domestic production.
“Visions without foundations remain mirages. Our textile revival will succeed only when Ghanaian cotton, grown from Ghanaian seeds by Ghanaian farmers, supplies Ghanaian factories producing world-class textiles,” he said.
LCIC, an indigenous Ghanaian seed company headquartered in Otarese in the Eastern Region, has emerged as a leading advocate for agriculture-led industrial transformation.
The award-winning firm combines commercial seed production with policy advocacy to support the long-term development of Ghana’s textile and agricultural sectors.
The Centre operates a 200-acre farm equipped with modern irrigation systems and manages a 50-ton seed gene bank with cold-storage facilities, supporting the preservation and development of high-quality seed varieties.
Over the years, its work has contributed to strengthening Ghana’s commercial seed industry while improving food security and sustainability nationwide.
