By Dr Aynal Haque

    RAJSHAHI, March 20, 2022 (BSS) - Farming of onion seed has started
elevating the agro-based economy in the region as many people are seen
building fortunes through cash-crop farming.  

    Side by side with some other high-valued crops, acreage of onion seed
farming has enhanced to some extent in the region, including its vast Barind
tract, as a result of its lucrative market price.

     Harun Ahmed (48), a resident of Naohata village under Paba upazila, said
he has cultivated onion on one bigha of land to produce seeds from the onion.
Last year, the price of onion-seed was exorbitant and he hoped he would get a
satisfactory price of the seed this year as well.

     He said commercial farming of onion- seed is gradually increasing in the
wake of its increasing demand. Many of the farmers have become self-reliant
through commercial farming for the last couple of years.

     Ahmed is predicting that around one to two mounds of seed would be
produced in one bigha of land during the forthcoming harvesting season. In
the last sowing season, per kilogram of seed was sold at Taka 700 to Taka
950.

     Price of onion-seed was Taka 5,000 to 6,000 per kilogramme and the
saplings of onion were sold at 4,000 to 5,000 per maund. The onion grown from
the saplings might be ready to harvest within the next couple of weeks.

     Akbar Ali, 54, a farmer of Palpur village under Godagari upazila, had
harvested around 300 kilograms of seed from three bighas of land last year.
He sold the seed at Taka 3,000 to 5,000 per kilogram during the last sowing
season.

     Ali told BSS that he earned around Taka 1.2 million (12 lakh) after
selling the crop last season. The lucrative earning has inspired him to
cultivate the onion seed on five bighas of land this year. Production cost is
around Taka 50,000 to 60,000 per bigha of land, he added.

     Himel Hossain, 43, another farmer of the same village has cultivated the
cash crop on four bighas of land this season. He earned around Taka one
million (10 lakh) after selling around 300 kilograms of seed last year.

     Interests among the farmers towards the seed farming have been enhanced
to a greater extent in the region due to soaring onion prices for the last
couple of years.

     Godagari Upazila Agriculture Officer Sharmin Sultana said the farmers
have cultivated the onion-seed on around 345 hectares of land in the upazila
this year, while the previous year's figure was around 250 hectares.

     More than 350 farmers have become self-reliant through commercial
farming of the crop during the last couple of years, which attracted many to
onion seed farming.

     Nazmul Haque, 48, another farmer of Tarapur village under Puthiya
Upazila, is now dreaming of harvesting onion seeds of Taka 1.6 million (16
lakh) during the current season.

     He has cultivated onion seeds on four bighas of land. His eye-catching
farming field predicts yielding more than 400 kilograms of seed in the
upcoming harvesting season.

     "My grandfather used to cultivate onion seeds, and I am doing this too.
Most of the farmers of our area have been cultivating onion seeds for
generations," said Taleb Hossain, a farmer at Harishanker village in Godagari
upazila of the district.

     Masudur Rahman, Additional Director of DAE, said the onion-seed
production in the division is nearly double this year compared to the
previous year. The field condition is so far well and there was no report of
any pest attack or damage of onion-seed in the field.

    He said the seed onion is getting matured in the fields and farmers are
hopeful of a bumper production of onion seed this year.