RAJSHAHI, Dec 14, 2024 (BSS) - Onion farming has gained momentum in Rajshahi region including the vast Barind tract this year due to high marker price of the cash crop round the year.

Officials of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) opined that the farmers have been showing their interest in onion framing as they can earn more by framing this crop within a short duration.

Besides, the present interim government has been providing various incentives to encourage the farmers at grassroots towards onion farming.  

DAE Deputy Director Umme Salma said that they had set a target to produce over 3.63 lakh tonnes of onion from 18,585 hectares of land in Rajshahi district. In the previous year, around 3.52 lakh tonnes of onion were harvested from 18,581 hectares of land.

She said the agriculture department have been providing all technical supports and advices to the farmers so that they could get good yield through the best management of fertilizer, irrigation and pesticides.
 
The DAE has already intensified steps for enhancing onion production through encouraging the farmers to cultivate it for fulfilling the country's demand.

Simultaneously, the farmers are also seen showing their interests in onion farming side by side with paddy, wheat, maize and winter vegetables amid massive demand and exorbitant price of the spice crop in the present market.

Meanwhile, the farmers are seen  busy with planting seedlings of summer onion everywhere in the region with the hope of satisfactory yield and market price.
 
Sub Assistant Agriculture Officer Atanu Sarker told BSS that around 80% plantation has been completed so far.
 
 Many other farmers are also seen busy with harvesting and marketing of the tuber onion at present.
Around 21,000 hectares of land were brought under the tuber onion cultivation in the division this year.
 
Nurul Islam, 46, a farmer of Mathura village under Bagmara Upazila, said he cultivated onion on two bighas of land this year. He got lucrative prices for the crops in the past couple of days.
 
In Rajshahi, onion of Tahirpur variety is very much popular in the region as most of the farmers cultivate it for a long time, said Moyez Uddin, another farmer of Ghasigram village under Mohanpur Upazila.
 
Mijanur Rahman, 45, a farmer of Krishnapur village under Tanore Upazila, said there is a bright prospect of bringing more land under onion cultivation in the Barind region as the farmers are very much interested to cultivate the crop for its less water consuming nature.
 
Rahman said he is very happy cultivating various less-water consuming crops like onions.
 
"I had to face many troubles to manage irrigation water for boro cultivation," he said. But, the cultivation of water-saving crop is suitable for the farmers of the area, he added.
 
Upazila Agriculture Officer Shamimul Islam said onion farming is more widespread this year than previous year.
 
Various government and non-government entities including Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) have been conducting different motivational programmes among the farmers to promote the water-saving crops in the drought-prone Barind area.