ZCZC
BSS-15
PRODUCTION-ONION-RANGPUR (with picture)
Record 89,970 tonnes of onion produced in Rangpur region
RANGPUR, May 29, 2020 (BSS) – The farmers produced a record quantity of
89,970 tonnes of onion in Rangpur agriculture region in the just-ended 2019-
2020 Rabi season.
Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said onion
production continues increasing every year through the last one decade
because of various pragmatic programmes taken by the government.
“The produced quantity of 89,970 tonnes of onion this time is higher by
23,084 tonnes than the production of 66,886 tonnes in the last 2018-2019 Rabi
season,” Additional Director of the DAE for Rangpur region agriculturist
Muhammad Ali told BSS today.
The farmers produced 62,673 tonnes of onion in the previous 2017-2018
Rabi season in the region.
The farmers are showing more interests in farming onion by directly
sowing seeds, transplanting seedlings and tuber variety of the spicy crop.
The DAE had fixed a target of producing 65,185 tonnes of onion from 6,550
hectares of land for all five districts in the region this time.
“However, the farmers finally cultivated onion on 8,235 hectares of land
exceeding the fixed farming target by 1,685 hectares or 25.72 percent,” Ali
said.
The farmers had cultivated tuber variety of onion on 3,409 hectares of
land, directly sowed its seeds on 422 hectares of land and transplanted its
seedlings on 4,404 hectares of land.
The farmers finally harvested 40,835 tonnes of tuber variety of onion,
3,798 tonnes from directly sowing seeds and 45,338 tonnes of onion from
transplanting seedlings with an excellent average yield rate of 10.95 tonnes
of the spicy crop per hectare of land.
The DAE, Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute, Bangladesh Agriculture
Development Corporation and commercial banks extended all necessary
assistance to the farmers to make the intensive onion farming programme a
success.
“The steps included distribution of high quality seeds, disbursements of
easy-term agri-loans at lower interest rates, providing training and latest
technologies, technical assistance and inputs under various programmes,”
Agriculturist Ali said.
Agriculturist Dr Md. Abdul Mazid, who got the Independence Award 2018
Medal (food security) in 2018, said the country has an enormous potential to
increase onion output by ensuring proper crop diversification, land
management and using latest technologies.
“The Spices Research Institutes and other agricultural research
institutions are laudably evolving high yielding winter and summer varieties
of onion to further increase output and meet local demand without imports in
the near future,” Dr. Mazid added.
BSS/SPL/MI/GA/1538 HRS.