This time in Pabna's Sathia Upazila, the farmers are facing
loss by planting Hali or the main method of onion. In fact, they can't afford
the cost of production. Due to rains at the beginning of the onion planting
season and defects in onion seeds, many plants have started flowering this
time. Farmers are selling these onions as they cannot be stored for long. That
is why the price of onion has dropped in the market.
Farmers say that although it is normal to have flowers in onion (Murikata or early variety) (onion sprouts), it is harmful to catch flowers in Hali or the original method of onion.
The price goes down as such onions cannot be stored. Seeing the high price of onion in the last two years, the farmers of Sathia Upazila became more interested in onion cultivation. But this time they are facing the opposite loss due to flowering of the plant.
Raja Hossain, warehouse keeper of Boilmari wholesale onion market in Sathia, said that the farmers were supposed to return home smiling after selling onions at the market but now they are returning home crying. About 80 percent of the land in this area has flowering onions. The price of flowering onion is very low. The way the farmers are bringing onions to the market this time due to flowering, there will be shortage of onions after five-six months.
According to the Upazila Agriculture Office, the target for onion cultivation has been set at 16750 hectares of land in Sathia this time. Onion is being planted in more than one thousand hectares of land this time than last time. Onion is cultivated in the upazila in two ways. One is murikata; The other is Hali method or original cultivation. In Sathia, onion is mostly cultivated in Hali method. This time onion has been planted in 13 thousand 750 hectares of land by Hali method.
Hali method of planting starts in January-February. The onions are picked at home in March-April. Hali onions do not flower unless there are major exceptions and these onions are stored throughout the year. But if for some reason the onion blooms, it cannot be stored for long.
Upazila Agriculture Officer Sanjeev Kumar Goswami said, "There are three main reasons for the flowering of onions this time." These are: rain at the beginning of onion cultivation, planting of old seedlings and sowing of defective onion seeds. Not all farmers are affected by these three types of problems. However, they do not have an accurate account of how many farmers have had such problems. And the way farmers say that flowering onions will be ruined in a few days is not correct. However, such onions will last a little less. But in special arrangements this onion can be stored for some time.
|Source: Online/SZK
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