RANAU: More farmers in the state will be encouraged to cultivate onions to meet national demand by 2026, said Deputy Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup.
"Onion cultivation has the potential to yield one to two tonnes per hectare," he said during a visit to observe the Madani special onion project here.
Farmer Shahrizal Denci was among the agricultural entrepreneurs selected by the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi) to initiate red onion cultivation in the state.
Mardi supplied him with a variety of onion seeds, including BAW-2, for planting on a four-hectare plot.
The project, which began in June, was expected to yield up to 2.4 tonnes per hectare.
Onion production will use nursery beds, and after 45 days, the mature seedlings will be transferred to the farm, said Arthur.
"Mardi has also identified two additional farmers in Sabah for the pilot project," he said, adding that they will receive technical guidance for onion production.
Arthur also presented RM30,000 in incentives to entrepreneurs for the construction of onion drying houses.
Since 2020, he said, MARDI has conducted studies to introduce onion production and boost productivity in the country.
The studies identified three onion varieties — BAW-1, BAW-2 and BAW-3 — as having high potential for cultivation in Malaysia.
As a result, Mardi has been actively producing onion seeds in two phases: a pre-commercialisation phase from 2024 to 2025, followed by a commercialisation phase from 2026 to 2030.
This year, onion cultivation has been expanded to several states, including Perak, Kelantan, Pahang, Selangor, Melaka, Negri Sembilan, Terengganu and Sabah.
Present during the visit was Mardi director-general Datuk Dr Mohamad Zabawi Abdul Ghani.