Onion growers in the district are happy as they are expecting bumper yield this season.

There was no pest attack in any onion plot in the district, so the farmers will harvest well this year due to favourable weather, said Deputy Director of Jhenidah Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) Shah Akramul Haque.

Akramul said onion had been cultivated on 2,395 hectares of land in six upazilas of the district in the last season, while 2,500 hectares have been brought under cultivation this season.

Onion has been cultivated on 220 hectares in Sadar upazila, 60 in Kaliganj, 55 in Kotchandpur, 140 in Moheshpur, 1,765 in Shailakupa and 260 hectares in Harinakundo.

Farmers said one kg of onion seeds is needed for growing it on one bigha of land. Production cost, including irrigation and fertiliser, is Tk 10,000 to Tk 12,000. They get 50 to 60 maunds of yield per bigha, and sell it at Tk 1,000 to Tk 1,200 per maund, they added.

Abdur Razzak of Charchunda village under Shailakupa upazila said he has been farming onions since 1995 as it is more profitable than most crops. Growers can store dry onion for long, he said, adding that they can sell it at good price when the prices go up.

Farmers sow the seeds from December to midJanuary and start harvesting in the second week of March.

Ibrahim Hossain said there are 200 families in Charchunda village and all of them work together for cultivating onions.

They get good price early in the season, he said, adding that if the price goes down they store the crop and sell it when the prices go up.