Farmers in Pakundia upazila of Kishoreganj are earning three times from a single onion plant: first from the leaves, then the bulbs, and also the flowers. The bulbs can be lifted 90 to 100 days after planting. A quick crop with several paydays has drawn more farmers in the upazila to murikata onion, the set-onion crop grown from small bulbs.
According to the upazila agriculture office, murikata onion covers about 290 hectares in Pakundia this season. Farmers usually plant the sets from the last week of September to mid-October. Once the leaves have grown they can be sold, which recovers part of the cost of buying the sets.
The upazila's sandy loam soil and climate suit onions. Murikata onion is grown widely around Jangalia, Chartaki, Tarakandi, Charkaona, Muniarikanda, Charpharadi and Jhaugarchar. Farmers say they plant onions at this time every year for their own needs and for extra income.
Alauddin, a farmer at Charpharadi, planted murikata onion on 32 decimals about a month ago and hopes to sell the leaves next month, with the flowers bringing in more. Hafiz Uddin Habib of Jhaugarchar said almost every farmer in the area grows onions and potatoes, but murikata onion most of all. By his count, a bigha costs about Tk 20,000 to 22,000 to grow, and with a good yield the onions sell for Tk 60,000 to 65,000, on top of income from the leaves and flowers.
Pakundia also grows onions from seed, with seedlings planted late in the season. The upazila's onions meet local demand and go to markets around the country. A trade in sets and seed has grown up around the crop: at the start of the season traders bring sets from the north and from Faridpur, and local seed sellers and wholesalers are part of the business too, creating work in the area.
Pakundia upazila agriculture officer Nure E Alam said the upazila's soil and climate suit onions, and selling the leaves lets farmers recover a large part of their costs. He expects farmers to do well when the new murikata onions start reaching the market next month.
This report is based on an Agricare24 desk report drawn from Dhaka Post.
Photo: Press Information Department / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Source: Agricare24
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