By Siraj Khan
Nepalgunj, Jan. 22: Farmers in Khajura, in Banke district, have again resumed cotton farming, which was gradually shrinking following the closure of cotton industries there.
Taking a cue from the Banke farmers, more and more people in Bardiya, Dang, Kailali and Kanchanpur districts have also started cultivating cotton.

Bijay Kumar Joshi, Cotton Development Officer at the Cotton Development Committee, Khajura, said that cotton cultivation had been expanded to 200 hectares in five districts, including Banke.
He said that cotton cultivation had now shrunk to 80 hectares from more than 2,000 hectares, limiting to two districts – Banke and Dang – from five districts two decades ago.
Joshi said that the cultivation area was being expanded to 200 hectares this year and it would increase further every year.

He said that the committee had already started its work by formulating a policy to replace the Indian cotton with Nepal-produced cotton.
The committee has moved ahead to increase cotton production as it has already created an environment for selling cotton by holding discussions with the major cotton industries of the country and the Federation of Quilt Entrepreneurs.

Last month, the committee had called the operators of the cotton industries and quilt businessmen in Nepalgunj and reached an agreement for cotton trade.
Most of the cotton industries in the country and the quilt industries have been importing cotton worth around Rs. 10 billion from India.

Two decades ago, 8,000 farmers were producing cotton, but their number fell to 190 over the years. The Khajura-based Cotton Development Committee that used to purchase 2,200 tonnes of cotton annually in the past is now buying only 80 to 90 tonnes a year.
The committee said that it had set a target of procuring at least 200 tonnes of cotton from next year.