The area of untimely summer onion farming in Jhenaidah is almost double in a year as the farmers had leaned towards the farming for their socio-economic interest due to excessive yield in four months. They have cultivated the same on a total of 467 hectares of land in six upazilas of Jhenaidah, while, the area of operation was 268 hectares in the last season, said the farmers.
Zillur Rahman, 41, of village Doharo under Hakimpur union of Shailkupa upazila in Jhenaidah when contacted at his summer onion plot said he cultivated the untimely spicy crop on his four and a half bigha (180) decimals of land in the season. He has been harvesting 120 mounds on each bigha this season.
The farmers said he had spent Taka 40 thousand for fertilizers, irrigation, daily labour and lease money for the land, while receiving 2.4 lakh. But he had expected at least Taka four lakh from the plots.
The farmer with agitation said all the farmers like him were not satisfied with the present market price of the onion as it has been selling at taka one thousand each maund. Many farmers in the area have been producing the summer onion, he said.
Anisuzzaman Khan, upazila agriculture officer of the department of agriculture extension (DAE) in Shailkupa of Jhenaidah when contacted said they has supplied the seeds and provided incentives among the farmers so that they could reduce the production cost.
According to the office of the deputy director of the DAE in Khamarbari Jhenaidah they farmers of the district had brought 467 hectares and producing 5,600 tones of the summer onion in the season. It was almost 43 percent more than the target.
DAE Jhenaidah Khamarbari deputy director Asgar Ali when contacted said the farmers in the district, especially; the Shailkupa farmers have been showing more interest on farming untimely spicy crops like summer onion.
They have been also benefiting from the crops, he said. Regarding low price of the onion summer, the DAE official said the government has been considering the interest of the farmers so that they could not be deprived off fair price anyway.
The government has been providing incentives to reduce the production cost of the farmers, deputy director added.