Assam to go on a mission mode in cultivation of onion

GUWAHATI: Assam to go on a mission mode to increase the area under Onion cultivation in the state.

Assam Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi on Monday asked the agriculture department to increase the production of onion in the State.

Officials of the department apprised the Chief Minister that Assam has been selected as one of the six States by Government of India to increase the production of onion and that the department has taken up a new initiative, CM's Onion Mission for 2013-14.

Assam has around 8525 hectares under onion producing 30.90 metric tonnes (MT). Majority of the requirement is sourced from outside the region.

The all India average for production of onion per hectare is 16.79 MT while that of Assam is 3.62 MT per hectare. Northeast India on an average requires 100 truck loads (20 tonne each truck) of onion in a week.

Gogoi reviewed the progress of activities of Agriculture department at a meeting with concerned minister and senior officials.

The Chief Minister said there is need for increasing the areas under double/multiple cropping and cropping intensity and to go in for farm mechanisation in a big way to boost production. "We have to bring more and more areas under mechanised farming. Government will raise the subsidy from 50 to 75 per cent to meet the farmers' requirements of tractors, power tillers and other equipment".

Gogoi asked the department to revive the Agriculture Farming Corporation (AFC). The Chief Minister directed the department to submit detailed project report for revival of 11 units of AFC.