Chi Linh develops winter onion crop

Growing onions is not as labor-intensive as other crops, and has few pests and diseases, so it is chosen by many farmers. Photo: Thanh Chung

Easy to grow, stable price

Previously, in Trai Gao residential area, Ben Tam ward, there were only a few families growing onions on a small scale, and people had to find their own outlets, so the economic efficiency was not high. However, in the past 4 years, realizing the economic efficiency of onions, many people have switched to growing onions. Because the locality has Bai Lay dam, the water source is proactive, so it is very convenient to grow onions. The entire residential area currently has about 40 hectares of rice fields covered with onion bulbs. After 3 months of care, farmers can harvest at a relatively stable selling price.

In the 2023 winter crop, the onion yield will reach 1-1.2 tons/sao, with a selling price of 8,000 - 10,000 VND/kg depending on the time, sometimes 14,000 - 15,000 VND/kg. With favorable selling prices, each household earns an average profit of 20-30 million VND/crop, with some households even earning up to 100 million VND/crop. "Onions have brought about clear economic efficiency, so people in the village have switched to growing more. Because they grow a lot, traders come directly to the place to buy at a high price, so people do not have to worry about output," said Mr. Mac Van Cuong, Party Cell Secretary and Head of Trai Gao Residential Area.

Hoang Tan Ward is a locality with a large onion growing area in Chi Linh. This winter crop, the whole ward has 60 hectares of onion growing in residential areas of Ben Tam, Dai Bo, Dong Tan. With suitable soil, onions have become the main winter crop of the local people. Hoang Tan people actively apply techniques so onions have good yields. Normally, each onion crop lasts from 3-3.5 months and will yield 1 harvest, but many households in Hoang Tan, due to good care, harvest 2 harvests/crop, helping to improve economic efficiency.

In Hoang Tan, specialized onion fields have been formed. The yield of winter onion crop in Hoang Tan ward in 2023 reached 6-8 quintals/sao, after deducting costs, farmers earned a profit of 6-7 million VND/sao. In 2022, Hoang Tan ward onion was recognized as a 3-star OCOP product by the OCOP Product Evaluation and Classification Council of Chi Linh City.

Value-added solutions

Chi Linh City continues to encourage localities to expand the area of ​​winter crops, including onions. Photo by Thanh Chung

The entire Chi Linh city currently has nearly 290 hectares of onion cultivation concentrated in the following localities: Bac An, Hoang Tan, Ben Tam, Van Duc, Le Loi, Hoang Hoa Tham... Growing onions is not too labor-intensive compared to many other crops, has few pests and diseases, and low investment costs, so it is chosen by many localities. In the past few years, onions have been priced well, bringing higher economic efficiency than growing rice, peanuts and some other crops. Onions have the advantage of being able to sell green onions and use the bulbs as spices, so people can choose many farming methods such as: pruning fresh onions or harvesting bulbs at the end of the season.

With the motto "focusing on value as production target", Chi Linh City continues to encourage localities to expand the area of ​​winter crops, including onions.

Hoang Tan onions have been recognized as a 3-star OCOP product, but the promotion and introduction of the product to consumers is still limited. “We wish to have a facility to process onions to bring higher economic value. However, due to difficulties in capital and conditions, we only sell raw onions. Hopefully, in the ward, there will be a facility to purchase and process onions, which will help to close the onion growing and production process, bringing higher value,” said Ms. Do Thi Doai, Director of Hoang Tan Ward Agricultural Service Cooperative.

To further increase the economic value of onions, Chi Linh needs to focus on investment, improve quality and design, promote production and product consumption linkages...

THANH HOA

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/chi-linh-phat-trien-cay-hanh-vu-dong-398461.html