Keep onions fresh for more than 6 months

 

Onion farmers in Faridpur, a district town in Bangladesh, are optimistic about the newly constructed storage model for onions and garlic, which promises to reduce losses and increase profits.

According to the Department of Agriculture Marketing, onions are perishable and difficult to preserve without proper storage.

About 30 percent of the 3.5 million tonnes of onion produced annually in Bangladesh is wasted due to inadequate storage, resulting in a shortfall of 6,00,000 to 7,00,000 tonnes.

Shahadat Hossain, senior agricultural marketing officer of Faridpur, said this forced farmers to sell their produce faster and at lower prices.

To counter this, Dam is constructing 65 model storages in villages in Saltha (30 storages) and Nagarkanda upazila (35 storages). Of these, 62 have already been completed.

Each storage is shared by groups of five farmers.

Faridpur ranks second in onion production in Bangladesh with cultivation expanding from 35,305 hectares to 40,433 hectares between 2018-19 and 2022-23.

Production increased from 4,45,982 tonnes to 5,52,736 tonnes during this period.

A recent visit to the villages of Saltha and Nagarkanda showed that each storage, which cost Rs 4.5 lakh each, was made of tin bamboo, iron, and concrete. Each storage, occupying one-tenth of land, can store 300 maunds of onion for 6-9 months.

The structures are 25 feet tall and 15 feet wide, with a concrete foundation, 15 concrete piers, and three lofts.

Six fans ensure air circulation, while a tarp protects them from the rain. Md Amjad Matubbar, 52, of Jonakhali village got his storage in 2022-23.

"Last year I stocked 140 maunds of onions, all good. This year my two neighbors stocked 110 maunds of onions," he said. Mustafizur Rahman of Adukandi village has shared similar success.

"I produce 400-600 maunds of onions a year and used to store them in tin sheds, where the heat rots within a month. The new storage keeps the interior cool, preserving the onions for months," he added.