Onions have been grown on more land than targeted in Sreepur, Magura district, this season. Onion farmers in the upazila are busy with the final stage of care, and with favourable weather, yields are good this year.

Farmers in Sreepur say the high price of onion seed has pushed up production costs this year, while the market price of onions is currently low. If they sell at this price, they will face losses.

This season onions have been grown on 7,891 hectares in Sreepur upazila, most of it in Amalsar union. The target was 7,445 hectares, so 446 hectares more than targeted were planted.

Farmers have already begun lifting onions from the fields. They believe more people will take up onion farming if a fair price is ensured.

Munshi Jahangir Hossain, a marginal farmer in Sreepur Sadar union, said he grew onions on 280 decimals of land this year. Because seed was expensive, it cost Tk 80,000 to Tk 1 lakh or more per bigha. If the weather stays favourable, the yield will be 60 to 70 maunds a bigha, sometimes more. Unless the market price is Tk 2,500 to Tk 3,000, he will not recover his costs.

Upazila agriculture officer Md Humayun Kabir, an agriculturist, said farmers are being given incentives, technology and advice for onion farming. If no natural disaster strikes, onion farmers will profit.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.