Home ›› 31 Mar 2023 ›› Nation
Footy corpus cotton farming is becoming popular in Gazipur’s Kapasia upazila due to a profitable crop.
This is part of the government’s initiatives to increase domestic production of corpus cotton, a vital component of Dhaka’s famed Muslin fabric. The Cotton Development Board (CDB) is training farmers on cotton cultivation as a part of this initiative.
Kapasia upazila of Gazipur is named after the popular corpus cotton. Keeping tradition and profitability in mind, farmers of the upazila are turning to footy corpus cotton once again.
About 600 kg of corpus cotton can be harvested per 35 decimals of land and per kg sells for Tk 100-105, making the venture profitable for the farmers. Production cost is less than half of other crops commonly grown in the area.
Many marginal farmers of the area have become financially self-sufficient by cultivating corpus cotton. The crop has been cultivated on about 50 acres of land in the district this year, related sources said.
Komor Uddin, a farmer of Belasi village of Kapasia upazila, said that he started the cultivation of footy corpus cotton this year for the first time on the advice of the agriculturist of Cotton Research, Training And Seed Multiplication Farm, Sreepur.
“I cultivated corpus cotton on one acre of land and was able to harvest about 550 kg of cotton by early March. I hope to harvest about 150 kg more cotton by the season ends,” he said.
The bumper harvest and good prices have interested Komor in cultivating corpus cotton on three acres of land next season. “The farm needs a small amount of fertiliser and tending to. I was sceptical about selling the harvest but the CDB officials reassured me by buying the cotton,” he went on to say.
Mofizul Islam, a farmer in Rayed village, said that he started cultivating footy corpus cotton after learning about its history and relation to the area.
“Cotton is less susceptible to disease than other crops. About 20 kg of cotton can be harvested per decimals of land. At the beginning of the season, I collected about 280 kg of cotton from 35 decimals of land,” he said, adding that he hopes to bring back the glory days of corpus cultivation in the area.
Another farmer, Ruma Begum, of the same village, said that the production cost was about Tk 25,000 for her 35 decimals of land, including all costs.
“I expect to harvest over 600 kg of cotton this season. The yield of footy corpus cotton is higher than any other crop,” she said.
Mahfizul Haque, a farmer from Belasi village, said that many farmers in the area have cultivated small carpus cotton on hundreds of acres of land.
“Crystal clear coloured cotton lays spread all over the field before they are collected. It seems that the white clouds of the sky have come down to the ground,” he said, adding that people from the surrounding areas visit the cotton fields.
According to the local cotton growers, the CDB has provided training as well as technical assistance to the farmers. The officials have given necessary advice to the farmers from the beginning of cultivation to collection and marketing.
Kapasia Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) AKM Golam Morshed Khan said, “The world-famous muslin fabric is produced from footy corpus cotton. It is popularly known that corpus cotton was extensively cultivated in Kapasia long ago, and the upazila was named after it.”
“Carpus cotton is being cultivated by the joint initiative of local government representatives, the upazila administration, the CDB, and the farmers. It will play a major role in the economic development of Kapasia upazila,” he further said, adding that the farmers of this region are moving forward to maintain the long-lost tradition.
CBD Dhaka’s Chief Cotton Development Officer Kbd SM Abdul Baten told The Business Post that out of the 14 units of the Dhaka zone, the cultivation of footy corpus cotton in Gazipur’s Kapasia has been good this year.
“Good cotton yield is expected this year due to timely sowing of seeds, proper care and favourable weather conditions. The potential yield in Kapasia is expected to be 4.5 tonnes per hectare this year,” he said.
According to the official, the Bengali month of Shraban is the time for sowing cotton seeds, so the rain that falls during monsoon can be used for cotton cultivation. Cotton cultivation does not require separate irrigation.
Farmers can earn extra income in the first month of cotton seed sowing by growing all vegetables including red amaranth as companion crops with cotton. The production cost of cotton can be lowered by selling the intercropped harvest.
Cotton can also be grown successfully in relatively less fertile upland multi-cropping with lemon, banana, mango and jackfruit without hampering their yield.
“If everything goes well, it is possible to expand cotton cultivation in Kapasia with all the units of the Dhaka zone next year by utilising the success of cotton cultivation this year,” Abdul Baten added.
