Onion farmers overjoyed by new storage equipment

Although Bangladesh produces enough onion to meet its domestic demand each year, at least 30 per cent of the bulbs are damaged before reaching the market due to inadequate storage facilities.

But in a first for the country, onion farmers in Sujanagar upazila of Pabna have started using airflow machines to improve the preservation of their crop.

The new technology was introduced under an initiative of the Association for Social Advancement (ASA), which is a non-government organisation working to improve people's living standards.

"Traditionally, farmers preserve onions by keeping them in enclosures covered with bamboo or thatch to ensure airflow, which could result in as much as 50 per cent of the crop being damaged," said Md Shamsuddin, regional manager for agriculture at ASA.

"So, we introduced airflow machines in storage facilities for preserving onion to cut the losses caused by crop damage," he added.

Shamsuddin then said the technology has been implemented among a few farmers of Sujanagar upazila, the biggest onion producing region in Bangladesh.

Md Shahin Sheikh, a technical officer of ASA, said the machine works by pumping air from above the enclosure to its bottom, under the stacks of onion.

This helps circulate the air inside the enclosure, ensuring that the onions take far longer to rot.

Traditionally, farmers preserve onion by keeping them in enclosures covered with bamboo or thatch to ensure airflow, which could result in as much as 50 per cent of the crop being damaged.

— Md Shamsuddin Regional manager for agri ASA

The machine is capable of venting rooms that are 10-feet wide and equally long, where about 300 maunds (each maund equals roughly 37 kilogrammes) of onion can be preserved.

"The onions may lose 10 to 12 per cent of their weight using this method, which is normal, but there is no crop loss. Farmers in India use this technology, which was set up by our technical team," he added.

Following successful trials, ASA installed the technology at two villages in Sujanagar upazila.

Md Masud Khan, an onion farmer of Poradanga village in Sujanagar upazila, said he lost 100 maunds of the crop last year as they became rotten for being preserved in the traditional manner.

Having sold most of his harvest this year, Khan is now preserving the rest in a storage facility featuring the airflow technology.

"I have stored 225 maunds of onion using the new method, for which I had to spend Tk 300 on electricity last month. However, the quality of the onion is looking very fine and so, I expect to get a good profit," he added.

Farmers have to spend Tk 20,000 for installing the machine at their storages while the technology has a more than 10-year lifespan.

So, this is a very cheap way for farmers to get the maximum benefit of their storage, according to ASA.

The association set up three machines at storages at Tantibando and Poradanga in Sujanagar upazila this year.

Md Jamal Uddin, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension in Pabna, said Bangladesh has sufficient onion production but 30 to 40 per cent is lost each year due to the lack of modern storage facilities.

"The airflow machine is used in India and other countries. If we apply such technology, it will cut a huge amount of the losses from damage," he added.