Uganda, Nov. 23 -- More than 300 cooperatives scattered across Lango Sub-region have collapsed after farmers decided to stop growing cotton, thus further affecting the buying, ginning and selling of the 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.

Cotton is Uganda's third largest export crop after coffee and tea, according to the Cotton Development Organisation (CDO).

It is the main source of income for some 250,000 households, who cultivate cotton under rain-fed conditions and with minimal use of inputs such as fertilisers and chemica...