Centre of Excellence for onion to come up in Sangrur

To provide farmers a substitute to the conventional crops, the Punjab government has decided to set up a Centre of Excellence for onion at Village Kheri in Sangrur district. This would be the third Centre of Excellence to be established in Dutch collaboration in Punjab, said Horticulture Minister Fauja Singh Sarari here on Friday.

Singh said that the centre is aimed at introducing the latest technological and scientific advancements in cultivation of onion as well as breaking the traditional cycle of two-crop system, which has been resulting in depletion of water table.

''Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann government is focusing on increasing the income of farmers by introducing new crops and latest technologies while simultaneously continuing the efforts to conserve the natural resources and save the environment,'' he said.

The Minister, according to an official statement, said that this centre will focus on increasing the productivity of onions from 22 tonnes to 40 tonnes per hectare using Dutch interventions and reducing the loss in post harvest by 30 per cent by using the latest storage technology of the Dutch.

The Minister said that 25,000 acre area is being cultivated under onion crop and once the centre will be established, the area will increase to 60,000 acres within three years.

The two Indo-Dutch centres -- Centre of Excellence for potatoes in Dhogri Jalandhar and the centre for floriculture at Doraha Ludhiana -- are coming up in the state.

Punjab also has two Indo-Israel Centres of Excellence including for vegetables at Kartarpur in Jalandhar and for fruits (citrus) at Khanaura in Hoshiarpur.