PABNA, Dec 04: Local farmers have started to cultivate onion extensively in different upazilas of the district amid its skyrocketing price in the markets.
They are struggling to grow onion in Sujanagar, Bera and Santhia upazilas and Padma char area where the spicy item grows in huge quantities.
However, the farmers are worried about the adverse weather and the high prices of fertilisers, pesticides and seeds.
According to sources at the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), even if some cost increases in the current season, late planting and slow digestion would not affect the onion crop.
They expect farmers to get good yields and fair prices of onion this season as well.
As many as 52,801 hectares of land would be brought into onion cultivation with a production target of 122,596 tonnes, they added.
Agricultural officials said it takes a maximum of 80 days for these onions to reach the market. New onion will be available in the market by the end of December.
Local farmers usually plant the early variety of Murikata onion in the first week of October.
However, they are planting onion in delay for two to three weeks due to waterlogging on the soil due to rain.
Onion farmers say the prices of onion seeds have gone up this year than that of last year. Last year, the price of one mound of onion seeds was Tk 5,000 to Tk 6,000. Now, it is Tk 8,000 to Tk 9,000 per mound.
The price of BADC dipped fertiliser has ranged from Tk 1,200 to Tk 1,250 per kg. Even the price of Tk 1,500 Bengali diapers has gone up from Tk 1,700 to Tk 1,800.
Ripon Haque, a farmer in Sujanagar upazila, has said he is cultivating onion on three bighas of land this season. This year, it costs Tk 1.15 lakh to cultivate it on one bigha.
Another farmer, Altab Hossain, says he has taken loan at a high interest rate to cultivate onion.
"If I could not sell onion at Tk 4,000 to Tk 5,000 per mound this year, I'll suffer huge loss."
Akkas Ali of Gopalpur village said he has cultivated onion on 10 bighas of land this year.
Pabna DAE Additional Deputy Director (Crops) Roknuzzaman said onion cultivation was hampered in the second week of October due to rain.
He said farmers would get good onion yield and prices if weather remains favourable this season.
Pabna DAE Deputy Director Dr Jamal Uddin has told The Financial Express that farmers are being encouraged in cultivating summer and winter onion.
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