Cotton Sector Development in Ethiopia

Dr. K Murugesh Babu has over 30 years of experience in textile science and technology, as well as postdoctoral experience in the UK, China, Hong Kong (China), and as a Commonwealth Fellow in Cameroon, Africa. He earned his PhD from the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi, India. His primary research interests include silk-based biomaterials, natural fibre-based eco-biocomposites, eco-friendly processing, organic cotton processing and eco-management concepts, natural anti-microbial agent-based finishing of cotton and other fibres, and bamboo-blended fabric production and characterization. He has over 100 research publications in national and international journals, including two textbooks on silk processing, one on printing, and one on bamboo fibres. He currently works as a Professor at the Ethiopian Institute of Textile and Fashion Technology at Bahir Dar University in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. Dr. Abera Kechi Kabish has more than thirty years of expertisein the field of textile science and technology. In collaboration with HoF University of Applied Sciences in Germany, he obtained his PhD from Ethiopia’s Bahir Dar University. He has held leadership roles in higher education as a Scientific Director and Dean. He is presently employed at Bahir Dar University in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, as an Associate Professor at the Ethiopian Institute of Textile and Fashion Technology. His areas of interest in research are printing, dyeing, and processing of natural fibres and dyes. Dr. Getnet Belay Tesema is working as an Assistant Professor at the Ethiopian Institute of Textile and Fashion Technology, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. He is actively involved in developing, evaluating and reviewing, Ethiopian standards on fibres, yarns and fabrics, and participating as a member of national technical committee in ISO standards, promoting sustainable cotton cultivation/production in Ethiopia. His specialization includes cotton research on testing, quantification methods on cotton fibre quality of Ethiopian and Indian cotton, cotton quality and processability evaluation, instrumental characterization of Ethiopian cotton varieties. Dr. Bizuayehu is an Associate Professor of Applied Genetics at the Department of Biology at Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. His research interests are in the areas of Transforming Sesame: Application of Molecular Breeding Techniques for Sustainable Production and Food Security, Molecular Epidemiology and Antibiotic Resistance of Campylobacter spp., Domestic Animals and Environmental Sources in West Gojjam Zone, Ethiopia, Enhancing the Quality and Market Share of Underutilized Coffee of Amhara Region through Chemical and Molecular Analysis, Post-Harvest loss reduction and Mapping for Authentication, Cytotoxicity, Genotoxicity and DNA content alterations in Allium cepa root tip nuclei after treated with tannery, textile and soft drink industry effluents Discharged into the environment, Genetic, Lifestyle, and Environmental Determinants of Breast Cancer among Patients attending Selected Regional Hospitals of the Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia and Chromosome number and Karyotype Studies in Wild and Cultivated Anchote (Coccinia) Species Education.

• Cotton Agronomy and Production Alemu Abatie and Yayeh Bitaw.- Cotton Genetics and Breeding.- Cotton Protection.- Cotton Biotechnology.- Irrigated and Mechanized Cotton Production.- Cotton Harvesting, Post-harvest Handling and Storage.- Cotton Fibre Demand and Supply in Ethiopia.- Ginning Industries in Ethiopia.- Cotton Quality Testing & Characterization: Trends and Grading.- Cotton Quality Requirements for Spinning.- Technology of Fabric Manufacture (Traditional cotton woven fabric manufacturing in Ethiopia).- Chemical processing of Cotton Textiles.- Role of Cotton in Ethiopia’s Apparel Industry.- Cotton Seed Production Technology.- Food and nutrition (Cotton as a feed and food crop).- Cotton Research, Extension and Promotion.- Challenges in Cotton Production, Quality and Future Aspects.- Cotton Value Chain and Economics.- Adapting Sustainable Cotton Production for Improved Livelihood of Farmersand Sustainable Landscapes.