Indigo farming: Once a curse, now a blessing

Manohar Roy, a farmer in Rangpur's southern region, has read about the dark history when the British rulers forced the farmers in Bengal to grow indigo. Yet he decided to cultivate it on his own land.

"I know the history. But I also know that indigo is a profitable crop. The cost of production is very low, and the return is high," he said.

Roy is not alone in this decision to grow indigo. With a huge demand at home and abroad, there has been a resurgence of indigo cultivation in Bangladesh in recent years, particularly in the northern districts of Rangpur and Nilphamari.

Indigo is a blue dye that is used in a variety of products, including textiles, food, and cosmetics. It is a relatively low-maintenance crop, and it can be grown in a variety of soil types. Those involved in indigo farming claim that at least 300 hectares of land are cultivated in the Rangpur and Nilphamari districts.

However, Additional Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) for the Rangpur region Md Aftab Hossain said indigo is being cultivated in small amounts in a part of Rangpur Sadar, covering 10 hectares of land. 

"It is not even considered a crop, and currently, we do not have information about the number of farmers cultivating it or its economic side," he added.

A different picture is portrayed by a study published by Md Jahangir Alam, a former director of DAE, in 2020. According to the report, available on the Agriculture Information Service (AIS) website, semi-commercial production of indigo in Rangpur began in 2007.

In the following years, around 13,000 farmers of Rangpur and Nilphamari districts were cultivating indigo on 100 hectares of land. Even three or four years ago, indigo was cultivated on 200 hectares of land. 

There was a drop in cultivation due to the closure of indigo-producing factories, but as soon as they reopened, new momentum was created, the study found.

Jahangir Alam also mentioned in his research that India needs about 300 tonnes of indigo every year. The best quality of indigo is sold at Tk25,000 per kg in the international market. Currently, El Salvador meets most of the world's demand for indigo. 

Farmers in Rangpur are now producing at least 2,000kg of indigo every year. 

The product is being exported abroad after meeting demand in the country. Now they dream of being the biggest competitor in the international market, he added.

Farmers rely on indigo cultivation for livelihood

Numerous farmers in the northern part of the country now rely on the cultivation of indigo for their livelihood.

One of them is Monohar, a resident of Harkali Thakurpara in Rangpur. The farmer said his ancestors used to grow indigo (locally known as Malgach) on fallow land, but not as a crop, for the need of compost or firewood.

"Three years ago, I came to know that it is a profitable crop. No pesticides are required for the cultivation. It grows naturally after planting with minimum care. No need to weed," he said.

"If you invest Tk1.5 to Tk2 per bigha, you can earn Tk1,000 to Tk18,000. Apart from this, dry indigo trees from one acre of land are sold for Tk9,000 to Tk10,000 as fuel. The cultivation of this crop is truly a blessing for the people of this region," he added.

Another farmer Sharat Chandra Roy, who has never thought of earning by buying leaves of this plant, cultivated indigo on 100 decimals of land in Gangachara, Rangpur.

"The income from indigo farming is twice that of any other crop. It is like getting extra money sitting at home," said Sharat.

Local organiser Nikhil Roy has introduced the farmers to this way of earning from indigo farming. He has also established an indigo factory at Gangachra in Rangpur, where hundreds of men and women work. 

The leaves are harvested for the first time 90 days after sowing. After collecting leaves, they are immersed in water in a water tank. Later, indigo is produced following a special process.

"My aim is to cultivate indigo on more than 1,000 hectares of land in this area. Indigo is the gold of the fallow land," he said.

Nikhil produces indigo by buying leaves from marginal farmers. At the same time, he encourages farmers to cultivate indigo by distributing seeds at a free price.

Nikhil Roy himself also cultivated indigo on 120 bighas of land he had taken a lease on. 

This time, he distributed seeds among 470 farmers. 

"Indigo cultivation is very profitable, which is not possible in other crops, but the Department of Agriculture has not done anything significant in this regard," he added.

Farmers said indigo cultivation costs a maximum of Tk2,000 per bigha. One bigha of land produces at least 4,500 kg of indigo leaves. The minimum price per kg of leaves is Tk5. As such, the leaves produced per bigha are sold for Tk22,500. 

The agriculture department does not have an accurate account of the demand for indigo in the country. However, according to the sources of several private development organisations, the country has an annual demand for eight to 10 tonnes of indigo.

Export potential of indigo

The private development organisation Friendship Bangladesh and others are working in this region to produce indigo with the possibility of export. They produce indigo and sell it to various RMG factories and organisations like Brac.

General Manager of Friendship Bangladesh Shah Md Abdul Jabbar said they had sent indigo to various companies in the Netherlands, France, Luxembourg, etc. They are reviewing the product. 

"We hope to have great business with them in the future. Then we can go into larger-scale production," he said.

Meanwhile, Living Blue Private Limited and CARE Bangladesh have jointly started exporting indigo production from Rajendrapur, Rangpur. 

Living Blue's Chairman Hakim Sumanta Kumar said they produce and sell indigo both domestically and internationally through CARE Bangladesh.

CARE Bangladesh Advisor Anwarul Haque said that the feedback from foreigners about the indigo produced in Bangladesh is good. 

There is a high demand for our processed indigo in the form of 10, 20, 50, or 100kg in foreign countries, and there is good potential for commercial export, he added.

Local agricultural officials do not consider indigo to be an agricultural product, but indigo is being exported abroad with the approval of the Dhaka DAE.

Dhaka DAE's Quarantine Pathologist Export Officer Susmita Roy said, "Indigo is exported abroad through our medium. Exports have not started yet this year. But the process is on."