Fisheries, Livestock and Agriculture Minister Mohammed Amin Ur Rashid today (Thursday) said the government will distribute 15,000 more air flow machines among farmers to increase the country's onion storage capacity.
He made the announcement while addressing a national workshop at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) auditorium in the capital's Farmgate, BSS reports.
The minister said although the country's onion production exceeds domestic demand, Bangladesh has to import a large quantity of onions every year due to inadequate storage facilities.
He said the government aims to bring onion imports down to zero by expanding storage facilities and increase production further to enable exports in the future.
"Our one crore people living abroad want to consume locally produced onions. Onions grown in many other countries are almost like vegetables, whereas our indigenous onion is the real one," he said.
Chaired by Director General of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) Md Abdur Rahim, it was also addressed by Agriculture Secretary Dr Md Rafiqul E Mohamed and Project Director Dr Md Mahfuzur Rahman.
The onion storage project is being implemented by the Department of Agricultural Extension under the Ministry of Agriculture.
Launched in May 2025, the project will continue until April 2027 at a total cost of Taka 11.77 crore, financed by the Climate Change Trust Fund.
The project is being implemented in 107 upazilas of 16 districts-Pabna, Faridpur, Rajbari, Rajshahi, Kushtia, Magura, Jhenaidah, Manikganj, Natore, Meherpur, Chapainawabganj, Madaripur, Shariatpur, Rangpur and Bogura.
Under the project, 3,700 environment-friendly air flow machines are being installed to prevent post-harvest onion losses, helping save a substantial
quantity of onions from spoilage every year and reduce the country's import expenditure.
The project also includes technical training for 3,900 farmers on onion storage management.