Agriculture Minister Dr Md Abdur Razzaque has suggested producing onion in summer season for achieving self-sufficiency in onion production.
He also directed the researchers, scientists and officials concerned to adopt a specific action plan in this regard as Bangladesh face onion crisis repeatedly due to Indian export ban.
The minister came up with the directive while addressing a central research review and programme formulation workshop at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) on Wednesday, report UNB and BSS.
“We have to produce summer variety of onion for achieving self-sufficiency in onion production. All the necessary assistance including seed, technology and other ingredients will be provided to the growers on behalf of the government”, the minister added.
He asked all concerned organisations including the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) and BARI to finalise an action plan as soon as possible to minimise the onion deficit.
Ahead of the next summer season, Dr Razzaque also gave instructions to the concerned officials to fix up seed demand and onion production target along with upazila-wise enrolment of the onion growers within a couple of months.
State minister for Youth and Sports Zahid Ahsan Rasel and Agriculture Secretary M Nasiruzzaman joined the programme as the special guests.
How onion crisis hit Bangladesh
Bangladesh witnessed a record hike in onion prices after India banned its export on September 29 last year.
Onions witnessed a 557.8 per cent year-on-year rise last year, TCB said. The record jump was witnessed in only two months after the Indian export ban. Each kg of the spice cost about Tk 30 before the ban.
According to TCB data, the price of local onion increased by 542.86 per cent while that of imported one by 572.73 per cent in November last year compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
A market analysis showed that the price hike, which stemmed from the ban India slapped on the export, is higher than the TCB estimate.
Besides, onion prices also saw abnormal hike in local markets a day after the Indian government restricted the export of all varieties of onion on September 16 this year.