Boost for big onion cultivators

by L. S. A Wedaarachchi

The Agriculture Development Department will launch a project to assist big onion cultivators. Under this project selected big onion cultivators will receive a grant of Rs. 50,000 each from the treasury, technology and assistance from the Agriculture Department and a bank loan of Rs. 70,000 at a concessionary interest rate of 9 percent to construct storage barns.

A spokesman for the Agriculture Department said that big onion producers in Sri Lanka face two major problems - wide fluctuation of price of big onions and drastic decline of farmers' prices during the glut season on a lack of high quality big onion seeds, he said.

"During the glut season the price of big onions in major producing districts of Matale and Anuradhapura drops to about Rs. 25-Rs. 35 per kilogramme leaving only a slender margin of profit to the farmer.

After two to three months the price per kilogramme increases to about Rs. 60-Rs. 80 creating the need for imports. If the produce can be stored during the glut season and released to the market gradually after about two to three months the farmers will benefit from the higher prices. Proper storage to minimise losses is necessary for this purpose, he said.

The spokesman said that the demand for big onion seeds at present is about 35,000 - 40,000 kilogrammes and only 10 percent of it is produced locally while the balance is smuggled from India due to the prohibition of export of big onion seeds from India.

"The quality of smuggled seeds is substantially low and it results in low productivity of onions" he said.

One barn can store 9,000 metric tons of normal onions which can be sold at around Rs 65 per kilogramme which is more than double the price during the glut season. One barn can hold 50 kilogrammes of big onion seeds.

Under the first phase of the project fifty storage barns will be set up in Dambulla, Kimbissa, Galewela, Dewahuwa, Naula and Kongahawela. Bank loans will be given only to big onion cultivator families and not to individuals.

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