Pabna farmers eye bumper yield
Mohammad Kamruzzaman of Sujanagar upazila experienced a huge production cost in onion cultivation due to a high price of the seeds last year.
This year, the farmer from Durgapur village looks much happier because he is cultivating onion with his own produced seeds.
Kamruzzaman has sown his own grown onion seed on bighas of land and hybrid variety of seeds on two bighas this season.
After harvesting the Kondo variety (Mulkata Piaj) in the middle of this month, he will sow his own seed on five bighas more.
"Last year, the production increased up to 30 percent as I cultivated early variety of onion on 10 bigha, buying each kilogram of seed at Tk 8 thousand." Kamruzzaman said.
Taking lesson from the previous year, he grew sufficient onion seeds this year and eying a bumper yield too.
It also saved his production cost, the farmer added.
Like Kamruzzaman many onion farmers in the upazila have cultivated their own seed this year.
According to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), 6.35 lakh tonnes onion was produced from 44,030 hectares of land.
"We have target to bring the same amount of area under onion cultivation this year and expecting a good yield as well," said Mohammad Idris Ali, deputy assistant agriculture officer at Pabna DAE.
Of the land, about 31,250 hectares have already been brought under the cultivation till the end of December last year, he said, adding that many farmers will sow their own onion seed after harvesting the Kondo variety by the middle of this month.
The Kondo variety onion pulp is planted in October and November, while the seed onion cultivation continues between January and March, the DAE officials added.
Besides, although the yield is high this year, farmers are disappointed due to its poor market price.
"Last year, I sold each maund of Kondo variety onion at Tk 1,700 to Tk 1,800. But it is selling for Tk 1,150 to Tk 1,200 this year," farmer Nasir Uddin of Char Gargari in Ishwardi upazila said.
Abdur Rashid, a trader at Sujanagar wholesale market, said onion price dropped a little this year due to adequate supply.
Moreover, huge quantity of imported onion are also available in different wholesale markets, the trader added.
Farmers said they are compel to sell the Kondo variety onion at a low price because they cannot store the early variety at home as it gets rotten too early.
While talking to the Daily Star, Pabna DAE Deputy Director Mizanur Rahman said the price is a bit low this year, but due to a bumper production farmers will earn a good profit.
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