Lack of support, farmland hinder Bangladesh cotton farming: Experts

This is as per some experts, who added with only 4 per cent of the required cotton produced domestically, Bangladesh heavily relies on imports even as officials from the Cotton Development Board (CDB) attributed slow growth to insufficient research, funding, and manpower.

As per reports, over seven years, cotton cultivation increased by just 1 per cent annually, reaching 45,000 hectares.

Despite spending significantly, the CDB only managed a 3-4 per cent production increase.

Targeting 1 lakh hectares by 2030, the CDB faces a daunting timeline even as limited progress in research, coupled with vacancies and staffing shortages at CDB research centres, hinder efforts.

Experts emphasised the need for government investment and policy support to boost production.

Mongsanue Marma of the Hill Cotton Research Centre stressed the importance of skilled researchers for significant production increases even as DMM Abed Ali from the CDB’s Cotton Research, Training, and Seed Multiplication Farm underscored the impact of resolving manpower shortages on production while another expert suggested integrating cotton with cash crops to improve yields.

Meanwhile, executive director of the CDB, Fakhre Alam Ibne Tabib, reportedly acknowledged the challenge of balancing cotton production with limited farmland and a large population while plans to reduce tobacco farming and expand cotton cultivation are underway.

SM Mannan Kochi, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) acknowledged the quality gap between local and imported cotton even as he urged collaborations among agricultural researchers for solutions.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DR)