Rajshahi Correspondent:

Farmers in Puthia Upazila of Rajshahi are busy cultivating onions despite the severe winter. They have been going to the fields since early morning with seedlings in hand. In some places, onion seedlings are being planted, while in others, onion harvesting is being done.

An exceptional scene has been seen on the ground in Kantar Beel of Bhallukgachi Union of Puthia Upazila. Farmers are planting onions to the rhythm of music by playing microphones to relieve the monotony of work. They can also be seen dancing in between work. As the pace of work increases, the morale of the workers is also boosted.

In addition, visiting various fields in Bhallukgachi, Jiupara, Shilmaria and Baneshwar Unions, farmers are planting onion seedlings in rows by treading mud on the land. Even though there is a labor shortage due to winter, field work does not stop due to the need for livelihood.

Farmers from Kantar Beel, including Sohag and Nahid, said that many workers do not want to work in the field during the winter. So, to keep everyone motivated, they are working together by playing songs. This is reducing the fatigue of hard work to a great extent.

Rakibul Islam Faruk, the group leader of a group of farmers, said that there are 14 workers in his group. They plant onions on an average of two bighas of land every day. This season, his group has completed planting onions on about 150 bighas of land.

While planting is going on, on the other hand, harvesting of Murikata or Dhemna varieties of onions has started in various areas. Various varieties of domestic and foreign onions are cultivated in Puthia Upazila during the winter season. Farmers of Baneshwar Union have expressed satisfaction with the good yield especially in summer onion cultivation.

When visiting Shibpur area of ​​Baneshwar Union, it was seen that Motaleb Hossain cultivated onions on 4 bighas, Mansur Ali on 2 bighas and Ashraf Ali on 1 bighas of land. Under the incentive program, 1,250 farmers in the upazila have planted N-53 variety onions with the help of the Puthia Agriculture Office.

According to the farmers, N-53 variety onions are more profitable than the Murikata variety. The average weight of each onion is about 250 grams. Four to five onions weigh one kilogram.

Farmer Mansur Ali said that he has already harvested and sold 100 maunds of onions from one bigha of land. Each maund has been sold at Tk 1,500. He hopes to harvest about 50 more maunds of onions.

Upazila Agriculture Officer Smriti Rani Sarkar said that farmers are having a busy time cultivating onions in various villages of the upazila during the current winter season. If the weather is favorable, there is a possibility of a bumper harvest this year. She said that onion seedlings have been planted on 4,185 hectares of land in the upazila this season. 330 farmers have been provided assistance under the incentive program. In addition, free fertilizer and seeds were distributed among marginal farmers.