Chi Linh develops winter onion cultivation.

Growing onions is not as labor-intensive as other crops, and they are less susceptible to pests and diseases, making them a popular choice for many farmers. Photo: Thanh Chung

Easy to grow, stable selling price.

Previously, the Trai Gao residential area in Ben Tam ward only had a few families growing onions on a small scale, and residents had to find their own markets, resulting in low economic efficiency. However, in the last four years, recognizing the economic benefits of onion cultivation, many people have switched to growing onions. The local area has the Bai Lay dam, ensuring a reliable water source, making onion cultivation very convenient. Currently, the entire residential area has about 40 acres of land covered with onion bulbs. After three months of care, farmers can harvest their produce at a relatively stable price.

In the winter of 2023, onion yields reached 1-1.2 tons per sao (approximately 1000 square meters), with selling prices ranging from 8,000 to 10,000 VND/kg depending on the time of year, sometimes reaching 14,000-15,000 VND/kg. With favorable prices, each household earned an average profit of 20-30 million VND per crop, with some even earning up to 100 million VND per crop. “Onion cultivation has brought clear economic benefits, so many villagers have switched to growing it. Because of the large quantity, traders come directly to the farms to buy at high prices, so the villagers don't have to worry about finding buyers,” said Mr. Mac Van Cuong, Party Secretary and Head of Trai Gao residential area.

Hoang Tan Ward is a locality with a large area of ​​onion cultivation in Chi Linh. This winter season, the entire ward has 60 hectares of onion cultivation in the Ben Tam, Dai Bo, and Dong Tan residential areas. With suitable soil conditions, onions have become the main winter crop for the people here. The people of Hoang Tan actively apply advanced techniques, resulting in good onion yields. Normally, each onion crop lasts 3-3.5 months and yields one harvest, but many households in Hoang Tan, due to good care, harvest two crops per season, significantly improving economic efficiency.

In Hoang Tan ward, specialized onion farming areas have been established. The yield of onions in the 2023 winter crop reached 6-8 quintals per sao (approximately 1000 square meters), resulting in a profit of 6-7 million VND per sao for farmers after deducting expenses. In 2022, onions from Hoang Tan ward were recognized as a 3-star OCOP product by the Chi Linh City OCOP Product Evaluation and Ranking Council.

Value enhancement solutions

Chi Linh City continues to encourage localities to expand the area for planting winter crops, including onions. (Photo: Thanh Chung)

The entire city of Chí Linh currently has nearly 290 hectares of land dedicated to growing onions, concentrated in the districts of Bắc An, Hoàng Tân, Bến Tắm, Văn Đức, Lê Lợi, Hoàng Hoa Thám, etc. Growing onions is not as labor-intensive as many other crops, is less susceptible to pests and diseases, and has low investment costs, making it a popular choice for many localities. In recent years, onions have fetched good prices, yielding higher economic returns than rice, peanuts, and some other crops. Onions have the advantage of being able to be sold as both green onions and used as a spice, allowing farmers to choose various cultivation methods such as harvesting fresh onions or picking bulbs at the end of the season.

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

Hoang Tan's onions have been recognized as a 3-star OCOP product, but promotion and introduction to consumers remain limited. "We hope to have a processing facility for onions to bring higher economic value. However, due to difficulties with capital and conditions, we can only sell raw onions. We hope that there will be a facility in the ward to purchase and process onions, which will help to create a closed loop in onion cultivation and production, bringing higher value," shared Ms. Do Thi Doai, Director of the Hoang Tan Ward Agricultural Service Cooperative.

To further enhance the economic value of onions, Chi Linh needs to focus on investing in improving quality and design, and promoting linkages between production and consumption of the product…

THANH HOA

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