State to distribute 8500 kg of onion seeds in 19 dists

kolkata: The state Food Processing Industries & Horticulture (FPI&H) department has started distribution of seeds of a special onion variety that can be cultivated during the monsoon season.

This is the second year when the state government is undertaking cultivation of the Agrifound Dark Red variety onion during the Kharif season.

"Last year we had distributed 7000 kg onion seeds in 12 districts of the state which had yielded 12300 metric tonne of onion. This time we will carry out the exercise in 19 districts and will hand over 8500 kg seeds with the target of producing 15000 metric tonne of onion. The distribution

has started from today (Wednesday) itself," a senior official of state FPI& H department said.

As the cultivation of onion is negligible during the Kharif season, the price often soars up particularly during the winter months as the state has to depend mainly on imports . This has prompted the state to take up cultivation of onion during the monsoon to cut down imports.

The seeds that have been procured from National Seeds Corporation of India are being distributed in Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur , Malda, Hooghly, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Murshidabad, Bankura, Purulia, Birbhum, West Midnapore, East Midnapore, West Burdwan, Howrah and Jhargram

The soil and climatic condition of Murshidabad is best suited for this variety of onion cultivation so 3000 kg seeds is being distributed in Murshidabad alone.

"We have also initiated the process of developing storage infrastructure for onions with capacity of 25 MT each. The project cost is 1.75 lakh each and the state is providing 50 per cent subsidy. We have set a target of setting up 400 such storage this financial year. Onion will remain fresh for at least three months in these facilities," the official added.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has asked concerned state government officials to cut down import of the cash crop and gradually move towards self-sufficiency in onion cultivation.

The initiative of taking up onion cultivation during monsoon is a stride towards that direction.

The state has to import over 5 lakh metric tonnes of onion annually to cater to its annual demand of 13 lakh metric tonnes. Presently, the state is too much dependent on the Sukhsagar (a bit whitish ) variety that is cultivated during winter and gives its yield during summer.

In 2011, when the Mamata Banerjee government assumed power for the first time in

the state the state's onion

produce catered only to 20

percent of the state's demand

in the state. Now, the state

is able to meet over 55 per cent of the demand and the rest

need to be imported from Nashik, parts of Andhra Pradesh, parts of Karnataka and Bihar.