Mission onion

While driving on the NashikPune Highway NH50 the Directorate of Onion and Garlic Research DOGR is an unmissable campus For someone whose daily meal is characterised by the garlic thecha and who relishes the kandalasoon paste in most gravies the research institute symbolised sublime sunshine The institute will soon complete 25 years of agronomic experiments under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmersrsquo WelfareThe sprawling 56 acres inspired me to visit the premier national repository for onion and garlic germplasm currently rearing over 1200 onion varietiesgermplasmIn COVID19 times both onion and garlic assumed supreme importance in the context of immunity boosting effortsThe modified storage design is sturdier It isolates the onions from external climatic onslaught and removes unwanted gases reducing losses up to 10 to 15 per cent during crucial storage monthsThe institutersquos breeding projects of hybrid and improved onion varieties suitable for different seasons is a massive exercise But there is another endeavour that it is currently busy withmdashpopularisation of its newlydesigned controlled onion storage structure The design idea revolves around storage that grants a higher shelf life to onions because onion crop damagemdasharound 4000000 metric tonnes of the crop is lost every year in India due to poor storage in warehousesmdashis at the root of the onion price crisis and scarcity all over IndiaCome October and onion prices start shooting up to Rs 50 per kilomdashin 2019 the months leading up to December saw prices spiral to Rs 180 Memes on supercostly onions continue to dominate the public consciousness funfacts around onion theft and hoarding are also part of the social discourse every year Though Maharashtra accounts for 40 per cent of Indiarsquos onion production it faces paucity for domestic and industry use post October The other four states of Madhya Pradesh KarnatakaBihar and Rajasthan also face similar problemsAdmittedly the onion crisis is a multilayered one with poor governing mechanisms lack of profarmer policies erratic monsoons and panic imports being part of the sob story But the DOGR maintains that upgradation of onion storage can salvage the situation to a considerable extent In collaboration with Kala Biotech cold storage specialists the institute has devoted the last three years to trying out differentsized versions of the lowcost controlled storageThe smaller units in the campus accommodating 50 and 100 tonnes suit the needs of smallmarginal farmers The institute did a comparative evaluation of the storage losses in traditional naturally ventilated single and double row storerooms as against the new controlled storage facilities which allow internal air circulation along with remote monitoring to maintain temperature approximately 27 degree Celsius and relative humidity 60 to 65 per cent The modified design is sturdiermdashit isolates the onions from external climatic onslaught and removes unwanted gases reducing losses up to 10 to 15 per cent during crucial storage monthsIn the past many have attempted to tackle the onion storage issue Nashikbased startup Godaam is working around onion wastage prevention by placing sensors amid the stacks which will notify the farmer about the spoil Private players like the Tatas have launched an Agronest Solution which detects onion sprouting or rotting However DOGRrsquos search for a lowcost viable storage model is commendable because it is aimed at a broad spectrum of subsistence and poor farmers The onion growers can pool their onion crop and store it scientifically in a cooperative manner The idea is also to store other vegetables and fruits when the onion is soldAs DOGRrsquos scientist Dr Rajiv Kale says ldquoThe trial runs of the various units have shown encouraging results on and off campus Our aim is to popularise collective storage the cost tentatively placed at Rs 40000 per metric tonne can be borne by farmer producer companies and not necessarily lone farmersrdquoA traditional roofed structure for storage of onionsKale and his team attends to farmers from all over Maharashtra and sometimes from states as far as Mizoram and Sikkim on an everyday basis Either through online workshops or impromptu visits or Doordarshanrsquos phoneins the institute imparts guidance on seed quality and harvest techniques A project on agribusiness incubation at DOGR invites young minds to promote startups to solve farmersrsquo problems Not a day passes when farmers donrsquot knock on the institutersquos doors for coping strategies pandemic times included Conversely the DOGR follows best practices of certain farmersThe institute also evokes popular interest because of its novel biotechnological research interventions to develop superior droughttolerant onion and garlic genotypes It is at the forefront to develop genotypes with variable bulb colours its white Bhima Shubhra and Shweta onion and purple garlic varieties are eyecatching beauties Its experimentation in diseasetolerant and virusfree garlic has also been a breakthroughThe institute has lasting bonds with onion and other farmers of the state and not just in the Pune district Rajgurunagar Khed where it is situated In fact many farmers have expressed interest in joining the institute As the lore goes resourcecrunched farmers look upon the campus as a source of employment young ones of marriageable age write letters to the DOGR Director for work and business opportunities even a sixmonth stint improves their eligibility in the social circleAlthough the DOGR is sensitive to the farmersrsquo crisis especially in the COVID19 pandemic it is unable to address all demands But in a onepeelatatime approach it is currently determined to avert farmersrsquo tears caused by storage losses40LOnions in metric tonnes that are lost every year due to poor storageSumedha RaikarMhatre is a culture columnist in search of the subtext You can reach her at sumedharaikarmiddaycom