By Manny Piñol
A new technology in bulb onion farming developed in Vietnam may finally help the Philippines achieve self-sufficiency in the important kitchen ingredient and end the country’s dependence on importation.
The new onion farming technology developed by Vietnamese farmers in the Mekong Delta where about 7,000 hectares is devoted to the production of this high value commodity will allow the Filipino onion farmer to harvest three times a year.
Onion farmers in the Philippines harvest only once a year because they use seeds in planting and it would take about six months before the crops are ready for harvesting.
Also, most onion farms in Luzon are actually rainfed rice farms which are planted to bulb onion during the dry season when water is not available.
Lee Duc Suy, a young Vietnamese entrepreneur whose family owns VietGrow, one of the biggest vegetable seeds producer and fertilizer manufacturer in Vietnam, said the new technology uses onion tubers as planting materials, instead of seeds.
The onion tubers, which are as big as a thumb and initially grown in a nursery, could be harvested after two months thus allowing the farmer to harvest as much as three to four times a year.
Lee, who visited the country recently and accompanied me on an inspection of a demonstration farm for onion farming in North Cotabato last Saturday.
Lee said the process starts with the intensive seeding of bulb onion seeds in a nursery area.
When the bulb onions have grown to thumb-size, these are harvested and replanted to the propagation area at a ratio of one ton per hectare.
The excess planting materials could be kept for as long as eight months thus giving the farmer the leeway to plant again as soon as he harvests the first crop.
This new onion farming technology, Lee said, gives the farmer a yield of between 12 to 15 metric tons per hectare which at a farm gate price of P60 per kilo would earn the farmer between P720,000 to P900,000 per harvest.
The cost per hectare is estimated at P250,000, including fertilization and farm development.
At that cost, the farmer stands to earn a net profit of P470,000 to P650,000 per hectare per harvest.
I have allowed VietGrow and its local Filipino partner to set up demonstration farms in North Cotabato, Southern Leyte, Nueva Ecija, Isabela, Ilocos Norte and Mindoro.
Should the demo farms produce positive results, this would mean the end of the days when Filipino onion farmers are at the mercy of imported and smuggled onions.
(Photos show Filipino onion farmers and their produce downloaded from Google.)
More Stories
Cotabato Eyes Huge ‘Halal’ Meat Demand
‘DV Savellano’ Model Bamboo Goat House
Practical Farming: Turn Used Plastic Containers Into Life-Time Laying Nests!