According to Cotton Development Committee, cotton production this year went up to 100 tonnes from 45 tonnes in the previous year.
Officer of the committee Bijay Kumar Joshi was quoted by the RSS as saying the committee paid 33 Nepali rupees (0.5 U.S. dollar) per kg of cotton to farmers this year. This is an increase by 3 rupees (0.04 dollar) from the previous year's price.
The committee, which once used to produce over 2,100 tonnes of cotton from 2,000 hectares of land, had not been able to plant cotton plants for three years during the 10-year-conflict in the past.
The 550 hectares of land owned by the committee at Kumbhar of Banke has been encroached upon by various groups, while the committee has not been able to reinstall or repair infrastructure damaged during the conflict, the report said.
Cotton is cultivated mainly in Banke, Bardiya and Dang districts in mid-western Nepal.
