A trial of year-round onion cultivation has begun in Saidpur, Nilphamari. If it succeeds, officials hope the recurring onion crisis will be eased, and the local agriculture department is working towards that goal.

Thirty farmers and plots were selected in five unions: Kamarpukur, Kashiram Belpukur, Khatamadhupur, Bangalipur and Botlagari. Under a government incentive, they received onion seed, fertiliser, cash and other support. The farmers germinated the seed, prepared land and sowed it, building polythene covers to protect the crop from bad weather. In Balapara (Bangalipur) and Sonakhuli (Botlagari), farmers were busy preparing land, sowing and building covers, with officials showing them how.

Upazila agriculture officer Shahina Begum, sub-assistant plant protection officer Sunil Kumar Das and agriculture extension officers Md Salahuddin and Momota Saha are supervising closely. The trial covers 10 hectares; if it succeeds, cultivation will be spread across the upazila.

According to the agriculture department, the Nasik Red-53 (N-53) onion can be grown in two seasons, winter and summer, which should help tackle shortages. The seed, from the company Orion, is quality-tested, the department says.

Shahina Begum said this is the first trial of the variety, carried out as teamwork between officers and sub-assistant agriculture officers. The soil had been tested in advance and found suitable, and farmers are receiving all kinds of support.

Source: Banglanews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.