Kushtia Representative: Cotton has been planted on 145 hectares of land in Bheramara Upazila of Kushtia this year. Day by day, cotton cultivation has become popular. As the weather is favorable, it is understood that the farmers will get several times more profit compared to the cost by seeing the huge yield in the trees. Interest in cotton cultivation is increasing among local farmers due to its low cost and high profit over the years.
Bheramara Cotton Unit Officer Manjuar Begum said Rupali-1, White Gold-1, White Gold-2, Ispahani Shubhra-3, Laltir DM-4, CB-1, Ufshi, and Bt cotton varieties have been cultivated. These varieties yield 16–20 heads per bigha in the field. The upazila has set a target of 145 hectares of cotton cultivation in the current year. Among them, various exhibitions have been conducted with the help of the government, and farming has been done with the farmers’ own funding. Local farmers, along with officials of the Cotton Development Board, expect that the number of farmers will increase in the future due to good yields and a fair price. Cotton is a summer crop. Cotton seeds should be sown in the field from the last part of May to the first half of June. Cotton can be harvested six months after sowing. To spread cotton cultivation, the Cotton Development Board and various projects are providing all-round support to the farmers, including training.
In Bheramara upazila, the amount of cotton cultivation and the number of farmers are gradually increasing with the help of labor and government cooperation with less capital. The cotton produced by them is directly purchased by the Cotton Development Board at a fair price. As a result, farmers are getting more profit from cotton than from other crops. Farmers were cultivating CB-12 and hybrid Rupali-1 cotton with government assistance. As the yield is good, the interest of the farmer increases. However, some fields were attacked by acet, jecet, American bollworm, spotted bollworm, and acha beetle. In this regard, cotton farmers have greatly benefited from pheromone traps and perching methods instead of pesticides.
Farmer Amjad Hossain said that he is currently making a profit by cultivating cotton. Cultivated cotton with a mortgage of 5 bigha land Increasing government support for cotton cultivation can change the fortunes of many by cultivating cotton on many barren or uncultivated lands.
Farmer Anwar Hossain said that by cultivating cotton on barren land, on the one hand, fair use of the land is ensured; on the other hand, farmers are getting a lot of money, and their families are getting wealth. So many people are interested in cotton cultivation, leaving different crops, including paddy and wheat.
Cotton farmers said Rupali-1, White Gold-1, White Gold-2, Ispahani Shubhra-3, Laltir DM-4, CB-1, Ufshi, and Bt cotton varieties produce 15 to 20 maunds per bushel of cotton, including seeds. The current market price is at least 50 thousand to 60 thousand taka. It is not possible to get this profit from any other crop on such barren land. Farmers said that additional income can be obtained by cultivating various vegetables and spices as companion crops on the same land. Therefore, many of the cotton farmers say that in the cotton cultivation of the land, millionaires easily
