MAJOR CROP. The initial harvest of onions in the municipality of Miagao, Iloilo in March 2023. The Department of Agriculture-Western Visayas targets to expand the number of onion plantations. (Courtesy of Miagao-Office of the Municipal Agriculturist)
ILOILO CITY – The Department of Agriculture (DA) in Western Visayas will expand the onion plantation in the region to 200 hectares, particularly in the southern part of Iloilo.
DA High-Value Crops Development Program focal person for Western Visayas Jonifer Frades, in an interview on Tuesday, said the current total plantation in the region is at 194.95 hectares.
The biggest is in Iloilo at 184.1 hectares, 8.85 hectares in Negros Occidental, and two hectares in Antique.
“Our demand for Western Visayas is at around 18,000 metric tons or 18 million kilograms. Our per capita consumption is 2.64 kilograms,” he said.
Frades said 92 percent of the production in the region is provided by the municipality of Miagao in Iloilo, where they also intend to expand the plantation.
He added that while there are a lot of farmers interested to plant, there is a required type of soil for onions to survive.
Most of the suitable area is found along the river in the municipalities of Igbaras, Miagao, San Joaquin, and Oton in the first district and Alimodian and San Miguel in the second district.
“Their soil is sandy loom because they are near the river,” he said.
The target production from January up to May will only reach 1,948.5 metric tons so the region has to source out from outside of Western Visayas for its other requirements.
As of the end of March, only around 22 hectares have been harvested. (PNA)
