Govt plans to install 8,000 air flow machines to reduce onion, garlic wastage

Agriculture Minister Mohammad Aminur Rashid has said the
government is planning to install 8,000 air flow machines in major onion- and
garlic-producing areas across the country to reduce post-harvest losses.
The minister shared the information
during a question-and-answer session in the Jatiya Sangsad today (15 April).
In a written query, Rajbari-2
lawmaker Md Harun-or-Rashid, noted that his constituency-Pangsha, Baliakandi,
and Kalukhali upazilas produces 20-25% of the country's total onion supply.
Around 5,68,755 metric tonnes of onions are produced on 34,470 hectares of land
in these three upazilas.
He noted that around 20-30% of the produce is lost due to
inadequate preservation and asked whether the government has any plan to
increase the number of air flow machines, which could reduce losses by 15-25%.
In response, the agriculture
minister said that 505 air flow machines in Pangsha, 260 in Kalukhali, and 495
in Baliakandi have already been installed under incentive programmes to support
onion preservation at the farmer level.
He further said that the Department
of Agricultural Marketing has formulated a project titled "Modernisation
of onion and garlic preservation using air flow system and development of
marketing activities," which is currently under review at the agriculture
ministry.
Under the project, there is a plan
to install 8,000 air flow machines in high-yielding areas, including Rajbari.
Subject to approval, there is a plan to install 800-1,000 air flow machines in
Pangsha, Baliakandi, and Kalukhali upazilas.















