Business Desk :
Agriculture Minister Dr Mohammad Abdur Razzaque has said an increase in onion production will make the country self-reliant in the essential cooking ingredient.
The minister urged researchers, scientists and all concerned to formulate a required action plan in this regard.
Razzaque was virtually speaking as the chief guest at a workshop titled BARI Central Research Review and Programme Planning on Wednesday.
He said the country is currently experiencing an onion crisis. It is time to make coordinated efforts and finalise a plan about when and how to overcome the existing crisis.
The minister called upon the Department of Agricultural Extension, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) and all other departments concerned to take steps in no time.
“We have to produce onion during summer if we want to be self-reliant, and the government will provide the farmers with all kinds of assistance like seeds, logistic and technological support,” he said.
It is instrumental to make a list of the farmers opting to cultivate onion in upazilas across the country, Razzaque said, adding that the roll needs to be prepared within 1-2 months while demand for seeds and production target have also to be set.
It is mentionable that, as a research institute, BARI continues to make efforts to ensure food and nutrition security for the country through inventing new species of crops and new technologies. At the workshop, it was also said that the research institute has so far invented 585 types of hybrid crops and species, including wheat, corn, maize, pulses, oilseeds, etc, which the farmers are growing and thus contributing to crop production.
