Informist, Monday, May 10, 2021

By Kaushal Verma

NEW DELHI - After repeated scarcity and surge in onion prices during lean seasons, the government is aiming to increase the vegetable's acreage by at least 5% to record 380,000 ha in 2021-22 (Jul-Jun) kharif season, a senior farm ministry official told Informist. 

"We are planning to bring an additional area of 17,000 ha under the onion crop this kharif," the official said. "Last year, farmers sowed across 363,000 ha."

Kharif onion is sown in Jul-Aug and harvested in Oct-Dec.

The government is encouraging non-traditional onion growing states such as Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and states in the north-east to add more land under the crop, he said. These states are expected to plant onion across 10,000 ha, and the rest will be fulfilled by an increase in acreage in Maharashtra and Karnataka. 

The move aims to increase farmers' income and ensure adequate supply during Sep-Dec, when the prices rose sharply last year, the official said. Onion prices rose to 75-100 rupees during the period last year on paucity of stocks in spot markets and late harvest of kharif crops.

Attractive prices along with forecast of good monsoon rains raises the prospects of a better kharif onion output, but it is subject to normal distribution of rains, the official said.

After excessive rainfall during the last southwest monsoon season, India is forecast to receive 'normal' monsoon rains in 2021, at 98% of the long-period average, the India Meteorological Department had said. 

In 2020-21, kharif onion production was pegged at 3.7 mln tn, lower than the 3.9 mln tn produced in the previous year, according to data from the horticulture department.

Production fell last year as unseasonal rains took a toll on the crop across a significant area, the official said.  End

Edited by Patricia Hou

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