The government is going to provide incentives to encourage cotton cultivation for the first time as part of its effort to increase domestic production and cut import dependence on the fibre, which is used by the textiles and export-oriented garment industries.

Some 12,375 farmers in 26 districts will be provided free-of-cost incentives in the form of hybrid cotton seeds, urea, Diammonium phosphate (DAP), Muriate of Potash (MoP), and pesticides.

In monetary terms, the incentive is worth roughly Tk 10 crore, according to a statement by the agriculture ministry.

"Our domestic industries have a huge demand for cotton. We want to meet one-fifth of the requirement by increasing domestic production," said Md Fakhre Alam Ibne Tabib, executive director of the Cotton Development Board (CDB).

Bangladesh used 77 lakh bales of cotton in the marketing year 2022-23, with imported cotton accounting for nearly 98 percent of the total requirement, according to an estimate by the US Department of Agriculture. This means that locally-grown cotton met just two percent of the total requirement.

The US agency predicted that cotton use might increase to 78 lakh bales in the current marketing year 2023-24, ending in July.

CDB's Tabib said his office had set a target to increase areas used for cotton cultivation by 2 percent year-on-year from 45,900 hectares in 2023-24 to 47,000 hectares in the next season, beginning from July.

It wants to raise production by 7.5 percent to 2.15 lakh bales next season.

"We will provide hybrid seeds marketed by various companies," said Tabib.

"As we have limited land in our country, we will focus on expanding cotton cultivation in areas with low cropping intensity."