Onion yield too low in Meherpur

Onion farmers in Meherpur district are worried due to serious production fall this season.

"Following experience of previous years, I expected 150-200 maunds of onion yield per bigha this season. But I am getting only 70-85 maunds. The quality is inferior too,” said Asan Ali, 48, who cultivated onion on four bighas of land at Biswanathpur village in Mujibnagar upazila of Meherpur. 

This year, farmers have cultivated onion on 2900 hectares of land in the district, but a large number of them, especially in Mujibnagar upazila, are facing production fall due to problem in the seeds and saplings they used, said sources of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE).

A high yielding Indian seed named Sukhsagar came to popular use in the area a few years ago and around 80% of the onion farmers in the district now use the seed, they said.

Farmers collect the onion seeds and saplings from different markets in border areas and plant it in late December. 

This time the Indian farmers are also facing similar setback in onion production, said local farmers and agriculture officials.

The situation has arisen as quality of seeds and seedlings fell due to untimely rainfall, they said.

The production fall comes as a big blow to the farmers who had to pay higher prices for seeds, fertilisers, weed killers and insecticides this season, local farmers said.

The prices this season are low too, they said.

Admitting the production fall in onion farming, SM Mustafizur Rahman, deputy director of DAE in Meherpur, said farmers must remain careful about the seeds and saplings they use.