St Thomas leads way in onion production

Lawrence Lynch, a St Thomas onion farmer, says planters have taken an strategic approach to ensure the significant yield in their produce.

Lynch, who operates four acres of farmland in Yallahs, said that farmers, in the past, planted onions in late November or early December. However, due to climate change, they recognise that there was a need to change the strategy.

"We realised that when we plant the onion at that time, we are facing challenges with thrips and beet army worms, so to mitigate against those, we plant the onions from about the last week in September up to the second week in November," Lunch said.

With this seven-week planting window, and carefully incorporating the required conditions for the different developmental stages of the crop, the farmers get the maximum yield, Lynch said.

He said that assistance from the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), which has provided training in land husbandry, plant protection, pest and disease management and post-harvest handling, farmers are in a good position to get better returns. RADA supplies farmers with seeds, fertilisers and chemicals, and assists with marketing.

More than 100 hectares of onion have been produced in St Thomas this year, with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture's production incentive programme. Portfolio minister Pearnel Charles Jr said that the parish exceeded the national yield of 17 tonnes per hectare, with farmers achieving between 22 and 38 tonnes per hectare.