Kolkata: State chief secretary Manoj Pant, on Saturday, visited the Horti Food Fest at Netaji Indoor Stadium. During his visit, he watched a video showcasing the entire process of onion production, from seed preparation to harvesting, at the Bankura district stall.
The premium quality of jackfruit (popularly known as Echor in Bengali parlance), pumpkin and other vegetables in whose cultivation the district specialises was also shown to the chief secretary.
Bankura in the recent past has witnessed bumper onion production with the yield of Agrifound Red variety in rainy season and Sukhsagar variety in winter. Bankura and Khatra sub division has witnessed the maximum onion yield with Bishnupur and Sonamukhi also chipping in.
Pant spent quite a good time at the Bankura stop and interacted with those associated with manning it. He also purchased some products associated with mushroom. Saturday happens to be the last day of the three-day Fest that started from Thursday.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has entrusted the Horticulture department with the responsibility of augmenting the production of onion for attaining self-sufficiency and production and cut down on imports from Nashik, parts of Andhra Pradesh, parts of Karnataka and Bihar.
“We have set a target of covering 1500 hectares of land in Bankura with both Agrifound Red and Sukhsagar onion variety with special emphasis on the Agrifound variety. Onion cultivation is best suited on land that contains certain amount of moisture. The areas that we have identified are elevated ones where rainwater falls and channelises down," said Subhasis Batabyal, director of state Horticulture Development Board.
Presently, the state is too much dependent on the Sukhsagar (a bit whitish) variety that is cultivated during winter and gives its yield during summer.
The state has to import around 5 lakh metric tonnes of onion annually to cater to its annual demand of 13 lakh metric tonnes. The department has initiated the process of preservation of onions at Nowda in Murshidabad by hanging onions with ropes from wooden platforms. Onions can be preserved for 3 to 4 months through this method.