Cotton farming lucrative, annual output worth Tk 1.0b

OUR CORRESPONDENT

PABNA, Feb 28: Cotton cultivation has been profitable for farmers in Kushtia's Daulatpur Upazila, which produces cotton worth Tk 1.0 billion annually. Bangladesh produces cotton worth Tk 7.0 billion per year.

Nazrul Islam, a resident of the upazila's Dharmadaha village, is among the about 2,000 farmers, who -- some along with their families -- are in a rush to pick fluffy cotton bolls from the branches of small trees. From a distance, the bolls look like blooming white flowers. The harvesting season is about to end soon and failing to pick the fully matured fruit in due time will cause them to wither.

To collect the cotton bolls, Nazrul and others following him use a basket or towel hanging by their necks. The harvest is filled to the brims of these carriers and then goes down into big sacks.

Nazrul cultivates cotton on four to five bighas of land every year. Per bigha cultivation cost, including the price of fertilisers, seeds, and pesticides, is about Tk 20,000. If the yield is good, the produced cotton is sold at Tk 60,000-70,000 per bigha.

Kushtia's cotton has an annual market price of Tk 2.09 billion, about half of which is produced in Daulatpur upazila. Thus, the upazila is considered one of the most important regions for cotton.

According to the Cotton Development Board (CDB), Kushtia, cotton has been cultivated on 4,895 hectares in the Kushtia region (Kushtia-Meherpur districts) against a target of 4,900 hectares this year. Of this, cotton was cultivated on 2,434 hectares in Daulatpur.

CDB sources also said currently Bangladesh has an annual demand of 8.5 million bales of cotton, most of which is met through imports. Each bale contains 182 kgs of cotton. The country produces 200,000 bales, or 910,000 maunds of cotton each year. Daulatpur's farmers cultivated high yielding varities of cotton, including Rupali-1, White Gold-1 and 2, and DM-4 hybrid. CDB's CB Hybrid and Desi Ufshi are also among farmers' choice. Farmers buy hybrid seeds at Tk 3,000 per kg. Farmers said harvesting cotton takes six months after planting seedlings. Sowing seeds in July and August, farmers can harvest cotton by the end of December to February.

Cotton requires regular application of pesticides, along with fertilisers and irrigation. Daulatpur's farmers have been cultivating various crops including chilli and red vegetables as companion crops on the advice of the local agriculture department.

Azizul Haque, a farmer from Dharmadaha village, said he cultivated cotton on seven bighas of land this year. "I started cultivating cotton on a small scale along with other crops. I cultivate cotton every year because it is profitable."

Farmers said with proper seed plantation and adequate care, it is possible to produce an average of 14 to 16 maunds of cotton per bigha. For marketing, the government has set the price through representatives of private ginning owners' associations.

Farmers in Kushtia complain of a lack of competition in the procurement of their cotton as they have to sell their produce at Tk 4,000 per maund through a specific foreign company.

Rustam Ali, former chairman of Adabaria Union Parishad and cotton farmer, said that technical assistance is needed in cotton cultivation and a large portion of the cultivation cost is spent on picking cotton from the trees.

Noting that there is a shortage of cotton harvesting workers, Ali said, "Cotton is wasted when it is not picked at the right time. Cotton production could have been increased if the government provided harvest and weed control machines through incentives."

Kushtia Cotton Development Zone have been operating 15-unit offices in Kushtia and Meherpur. Five among the nine Kushtia offices are in Daulatpur. The activities of the offices include training farmers and providing them necessary advice and support. To encourage cotton cultivation, the government is giving incentives to farmers every year. This year, 2,050 farmers have been brought under incentives in Daulatpur.

Sheikh Al Mamun, chief cotton development officer of Kushtia, told the FE that cotton is being cultivated in large quantities in Dharmadaha village as a profitable cash crop. About 2,000 people in this area are involved in cotton cultivation. He also said that cotton is mainly used to make yarn and jeans fabrics require 16-22 centimeters of cotton fiber.

Everything about cotton is useful and profitable with seeds allowing oil extraction, roots having medicinal properties and the leaves' usage as organic fertiliser, he added.

He further said cotton price is determined based on the fiber and cotton is mainly exported abroad through the United Kingdom's "Primer Brand Company."

Selected farmers, who were provided training by the company, sell their cotton to the company, which is exported abroad. Representatives of the company guide those farmers throughout the entire period, from sowing seeds to harvesting.

Al Mamun said currently, Bangladesh is the second largest cotton importer in the world and a huge amount of cotton has to be imported to meet the raw material needs of the country's vast garment industry.

Sources said CDB in Bangladesh is working to reduce foreign dependence and increase cotton cultivation and production. This year, the government provided an incentive of Tk 180 million to the cotton farmers.

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