Attaining self-sufficiency in onion, garlic and ginger production

Onion, garlic and ginger are the vegetable spices that we need every day to cook our food. However, they often get pricier since we are largely dependent on imported onion, garlic and ginger. One way to avoid this situation is to make the country self-sufficient in producing these spices. According to the ministry of agriculture, during the financial year 2022-23, Bangladesh produced a total of 3.4 million metric tonnes of onion against the demand of 6.2 million metric tonnes. Besides, as we could not preserve onions properly, around 30 per cent of the locally produced onions got damaged. So, adopting scientific methods to preserve perishable spices and vegetables like onion is important.

There are two kinds of garlic and ginger in our kitchen market. One is locally grown and the other one is imported. Both locally produced ginger and garlic are small in size while the imported ones are large. The imported varieties of ginger and garlic, also known as Chinese varieties, have recently become very popular in Bangladesh. Restaurant workers and housewives prefer the Chinese varieties of garlic and ginger as they are easy to peel. However, our farmers cannot grow such varieties. So, we are largely dependent on imported garlic and ginger. Imported varieties of garlic and ginger are now sold at Tk 200-250 and Tk 300-350 respectively in the kitchen markets of the capital city.

In general, the soil of Bangladesh is very fertile. The weather is also favourable for growing all types of plants and crops. We have been successful in growing foreign varieties of potatoes and guavas. So, why can't we be able to produce high-yielding varieties of ginger and garlic bulbs? Keeping in mind the demand for big onion, garlic and ginger, the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation authorities can import seeds of big size onion, garlic and ginger from the USA or from other countries and distribute them among our farmers at subsidised price. Since the soil and climate of Bangladesh are suitable for onion, garlic and ginger cultivation, we can grow big garlic and ginger commercially to meet our national demand.

Md. Ashraf Hossain

120, Central Bashaboo, Dhaka-1214,

tahrimanithi@gmail.com