ARITAO, Nueva Vizcaya (PIA) - - At least 1,500 onion farmers here recently received free seeds from the Department of Agriculture (DA) to boost the production of onions in the province.
The onion seeds worth more than P7.9 million were given to the members of the Federation of Aritao Farmers Onion, Garlic and Ginger Growers Association (FAFOGGGA) who come from barangays Calitlitan, Banganan, Bone North, Bone South, Nagkuratelan, Cutar, Poblacion, Comon, and Darapidap.
Arsenio Apostol Jr., DA Nueva Vizcaya Experiment Station (NVES) manager, said a total of 1,306 kilos of seeds of the Red Dragon, Red Pinoy, and Shallot Maserati F1 varieties were distributed to the farmers who received 1.2 kilos of the three varieties during a distribution program held in barangay Nagcuartelan.
“The assistance package also includes new onion interventions to improve productivity and ensure that the farmers’ products will have ready markets,” he said.
Onion Red Dragon is a compact dark-red globe-shaped bulb which matures at 85 – 90 days after transplanting (DAT). It has a vigorous and uniform growth, very good storage quality, and tolerant to damping-off, bulb rot and purple blotch diseases, and pests like leafminer.
Red Pinoy is a deep-red attractive bulb with a high market demand. The variety is well-adapted to both rainfed and irrigated lands. It matures at 90 DAT, has strong pungency, has long shelf life of up to 6 months at room temperature, and tolerates purple blotch and mildew diseases.
The Shallot Maserati F1 is a multiplier onion variety with a very intense red color and much bigger than the bulbs of the native lasona. It is an early-maturing variety and the bulbs can be harvested at 80 DAP. All the three varieties have yield potentials of 11 to 14 tons per hectare.
The DA’s Philippine Onion Industry Roadmap 2021-2025 shows that the country needs to increase onion production from 229,539 metric tons to 279,270 metric tons in five years by increasing the production areas and productivity for onion to achieve self-sufficiency.
This year, the DA High-Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP) has set aside P47.48 million for production support services such as seedlings and fertilizers for onion-growing areas.
The HVCDP is also building an onion and garlic post-harvest facility worth P30 million in barangay Nagcuartelan to provide farmers with conducive place to store their harvest before they hit the market.
The amount incurred was part of the P35.673 million that was allotted for post-harvest facilities, irrigation network services, and farm production machinery and equipment.
The onion planting schedule in Aritao starts as early as September and harvesting starts by December.
DA officials said higher onion prices can be observed by July to November next year. (OTB/BME/PIA NVizcaya)
