Onion farmers of Padma's char area of Bagha upazila of Rajshahi have got bumper yield this year, but farmers are frustrated with the onion due to the low price.
Farmers of this area are now passing busy time for plucking onion from their field. Hundreds of workers are working to pluck and market the onions.
Anat Hossain of Palash Fatehpur Char of the upazila said he has planted onions taking loan from various NGOs and moneylenders. He will repay their money after selling his onions.
In the local market, onion was being sold at Tk 450 to 650 on Saturday. But the average production cost of onion is about Tk 500 to 750. For every maund, farmers have to count Tk 50-150 loss.
According to the Upazila Agriculture Office sources, onion has been cultivated in more than the target area this season. In the current season, onion is being cultivated on 2,024 hectares of land. The production target was set 7,650 hectares.
Amin Sikder of Chakjapur Char said that onion production cost for 10 bighas of land in this season is about Tk 50,000. This time fertilizer, pesticides and medicines are more expensive than last year.
Nazmul Hossain, onion trader of Bagha Haat said that the number of wholesalers in the local market is less. If the government does not import onion from India then the demand and prices of onions will increase.
Upazila Agriculture Officer-in-Charge Samimul Islam said, this year, onion has been cultivated throughout the upazila. But the farmers are not getting good prices on onions due to bumper yield and Indian onions.
