KEPALA BATAS: Penang has become the second state to grow its own onions after Perak, through an onion cultivation project in Ara Kuda, Tasek Gelugor, which is now being marketed within the community, especially at night markets.

State agrotechnology, food security and cooperative development Committee chairman Fahmi Zainol, said that the cultivation project on 0.4 hectares of land was carried out in collaboration with the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi), the Penang Agriculture Department and a private company, Vitrox Agritech.

"For the first harvest phase, three months after planting these onions, we successfully harvested 1.3 tonnes, which were sold at nearby night markets and surrounding areas at affordable prices for consumers.

"Currently, we have entered the planting process for the second season and have improved several aspects, including utilising technology to potentially shorten the harvest time to two months compared to the previous three," he told Bernama on Thursday (July 25).

He said the onion cultivation project is a pioneering effort to address the issue of onion supply assurance, a staple ingredient in Malaysian cuisine.

Fahmi said Rose onion seeds, among the best in the world, provided by MARDI, are being used for onion cultivation in Penang.

He said the selling price of onions starts at RM5 per kilogramme, and so far, there has been a good demand from consumers, and hoped that the onion cultivation project can be expanded to ensure a steady supply for consumers while allowing farmers to increase their income from onion crops.

"In fact, these onions are on par with the ones we import. Sometimes, there's a concern about the taste not being the same as imported ones but when tested or tasted, they are comparable to imported onions. Currently, our constraint lies in the weather, with the intense heat and occasional rains posing challenges," he said.

He said that onion cultivation requires hot weather and is sensitive to heavy rain, hence they are grown under plastic roofing to protect them.

Fahmi also expressed his hope for more farmers to collaborate with MARDI and the State Agriculture Department to expand onion cultivation to other areas in Penang, thus reducing dependency solely on imported onions.

Based on taste and aroma, Fahmi, who is also Pantai Jerejak assemblyman, is confident that Penang onions have great potential.

In April, Perak became the first state in Malaysia to successfully harvest local BW1 onions, weighing around 2.3 metric tonnes, in Kampung Ladang Bikam, Tanjung Malim.- Bernama

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2024/07/25/penang-successfully-cultivates-onions-harvesting-13-tonnes