Luck smiles on cotton farmers in 9 districts
A farmer aided by a boy plucks cotton at Naobhangarchar in Pathalia village of Jamalpur Sadar upazila that sees successful cultivation of the cash crop under the initiative of Cotton Development Board. The photo was taken recently. Photo: STAR
Nine districts under Jessore and Kushtia zones see bumper production of cotton this season, much to the happiness of farmers who cultivated the cash crop on more than double areas of land compared to last year's. Favourable weather, use of compost and standard HYV seeds, availability of bank loans without any difficulty, relief from pest attack in this season and rainfall during October and November helped better growth of cotton this season, said sources at Jessore Regional Office of Cotton Development Board (CDB). Under the regional office, there are 36 offices in Jessore Zone (Jessore, Satkhira, Jhenidah, Magura, Faridpur districts) and 33 offices in Kushtia Zone (Kushtia, Meherpur, Chuadanga and Rajbari districts). In last season, cotton was cultivated on 6,050 hectares of land under the two zones. This season, 13,617 hectares of land have been brought under cotton cultivation in this region (Jessore Zone -- 6,326 hectares, Kushtia Zone --7291 hectares) and the target was to produce 30-32 thousand tonnes of cotton, the regional office sources said. This year's production target has already exceeded much as farmers got 36 to 45 maunds (one maund = 37.5 kg) of cotton per acre (100 decimals) of land, CDB sources said. Cotton cultivation is gaining popularity in Jessore region due to its increasing demand, high prices, easy cultivation process and lower production cost, said farmers and CDB officials. HYV of cotton seed C.B-12, invented last year in Jagodishpur Cotton Laboratory in Jessore, yields 12 to 15 maunds per bigha of land and it takes five to six months to harvest, said Kamrul Hasan, cotton agronomist of the laboratory. Dr Md Abdus Samad, compost analyst of RK Agro, said they provided hands-on training to farmers to encourage use of compost fertilisers instead of chemical ones and got positive results. Md Musa, a cotton farmer of Bagharpara upazila under Jessore district, attributed bumper cotton production in this season to favourable weather conditions, training from RK Agro on use of compost fertilisers and pesticides and availability of easy bank loan. "After harvesting cotton in December or January, we can cultivate boro, potato, maize and other crops in the same field. It is easier and more profitable than other cultivation. Production cost of cotton per bigha of land is Tk 7,000 at the maximum and it can earn Tk 35,000 to Tk 40,000 per bigha," said Abul Kashem Sardar, a cotton farmer of Monirampur upazila in Jessore district. During a recent field visit, agriculturist Dr Mustafiqur Rahman Raihan, business consultant of Catalyst, Jessore, told this correspondent that the organisation provides support for the development of farming sector, such as cotton. Jafor Ali, deputy director of Jessore Regional Office of Cotton Development Board, said that they are helping farmers to get adequate supply of fertilisers, new variety of early yielding seed and easy term bank loan to bring a revolutionary change in cotton farming in the region.
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