Cotton cultivation is gaining popularity day by day in Dinajpur. Due to lower production costs and minimal risk of loss compared to other crops, farmers are increasingly turning to cotton cultivation. While growers are smiling with profit, the workers engaged in cotton harvesting are struggling to make ends meet.
According to the Dinajpur Regional Cotton Research, Training and Seed Multiplication Centre, cotton has been extensively cultivated this season in seven upazilas of the district, including Sadar upazila. Farmers say that cotton cultivation costs only Tk 20,000 to Tk 25,000 per acre, while average production stands at around 1.6 tonnes per hectare. Compared to rice and other crops, cotton sales are generating nearly double the profit. Encouraged by fair market prices, many farmers are abandoning traditional crops in favour of cotton.
Cotton is a long-duration crop, taking nearly six months from planting to harvest. For this reason, many farmers were initially reluctant. Shahana Yasmin, Scientific Officer at the Dinajpur Cotton Development Board, said researchers are working intensively to reduce the crop’s growing period. “If the duration can be shortened, farmers will be able to produce more crops from the same land,” she noted.
While the sight of cotton harvesting may appear picturesque, the reality for the workers behind the scenes is grim. Workers involved in cotton picking say they are paid only Tk 16 per kilogram. Even after picking around 30 kilograms a day through backbreaking labour, their daily earnings amount to just Tk 480 to Tk 500. Amid rising living costs, they say it has become nearly impossible to support their families on such meagre wages. Workers say that unless wages are at least doubled, a labour shortage may emerge in the future.
At present, domestic cotton production meets only 10 percent of the country’s total demand. Deputy Director of the Dinajpur Cotton Development Board, Zafar Ali, said that around 21,000 farmers nationwide are currently receiving government incentives, though this support remains insufficient. “If farmers are provided with low-interest loans, quality seeds, proper training, and a well-regulated market system, the country could one day become self-sufficient in cotton production,” he said.
Farmers in Dinajpur believe that with adequate government support, cotton could become a viable alternative to imported raw materials for the garment industry and play a significant role in saving foreign currency.
