Dhaka: The government has allocated Taka 20 crore as an incentive for cotton growers in the 2026-27 fiscal year, aiming to enhance domestic cotton production and provide support to marginal farmers across Bangladesh.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, officials from the Cotton Development Board (CDB) stated that approximately 25,000 farmers across 26 districts will receive seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides to cultivate cotton as an intercrop on one bigha of land. Dr. M Gazi Golam Mortuza, a soil fertility and water management expert at CDB, explained that this initiative marks the third consecutive year of providing such incentives to boost cotton production and offer financial assistance to poor and marginal farmers.
The program will provide each farmer with agricultural inputs valued at Tk 8,000, which includes 600 grams of hybrid cotton seed, 50 kilograms each of triple super phosphate (TSP) and Muriate of Potash (MoP), two kilograms of boron fertilizer, 450 millilitres of fungicide, and 150 millilitres of growth regulator. Officials anticipate that this incentive will motivate farmers to increase cotton cultivation, thereby reducing the country’s reliance on imported raw cotton.
CDB Executive Director Md Rezaul Amin highlighted the profitability of cotton cultivation for farmers. He noted that the production cost on one bigha of land is approximately Tk 15,000, while farmers can earn nearly Tk 60,000 by producing 15 maunds of raw cotton. Amin further emphasized that local cotton production helps save foreign currency, as each kilogram of domestically produced cotton reduces government import costs by around US$4.
Cotton sowing typically begins in mid-June and continues until December, as per the CDB. Senior Ginning Officer Mohammad Mofazzal Hossain noted that cotton cultivation also benefits soil health, unlike repeated maize cultivation which depletes soil fertility.
The incentive will benefit 6,200 farmers in the Kushtia zone, 5,500 in the Chuadanga zone, 3,200 in the Jenaidah zone, 3,000 in the Jeshore zone, 2,000 in the Rajshahi zone, 1,200 each in the Bogura and Mymensingh zones, 680 in the Rangpur zone, 500 in the Thakurgaon zone, and 380 farmers each in the Dhaka, Bandarban, Rangamati, and Khagrachari zones. The Ministry of Agriculture will disburse the funds to the respective district deputy commissioners, with distribution of inputs set to commence next month in coordination with district-level chief cotton development officers.
The government previously allocated Tk 9.90 crore for 12,375 farmers in 2023-24 and Tk 16.88 crore for 21,100 farmers in 2025-26 under similar incentive programs. CDB scientists have reported that the introduction of genetically modified cotton varieties has significantly contributed to increased yields and reduced import dependency. They also identified Bangladesh’s southern, western, northern, and central regions as suitable for cultivating both upland and hill cotton.
Currently, cotton is cultivated on approximately 45,000 hectares of land in the country, yielding nearly 201,272 bales annually. However, local production only meets 3 to 4 percent of the national demand, while the country’s textile industry requires an estimated 7.5 to 8 million bales of cotton each year. In the 2025-26 fiscal year, Bangladesh imported around 7.3 million bales of raw cotton at a cost of approximately Tk 45,000 crore, as per official data.