GOPENG: The silver state, which has begun branding its commercial onion cultivation as ‘Perak onions’, will expand farming to three more districts with a further RM1.4mil allocation from the Federal Government.
Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad said the pilot project started in the Batang Padang district last year.
This would be expanded to the Kuala Kangsar, Muallim and Perak Tengah districts.
Perak has the distinction of pioneering Malaysia’s first commercially produced onion.
Saarani said “Perak onions” are found to be tasty and sweet.
“This makes them attractive to buyers,” he told reporters at the closing of the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama) Fest 2025 at the Rural Transformation Centre here yesterday.
Also present was Deputy Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup.
Saarani said the state would identify the areas that meet the criteria for growing onions.
“The crop requires fertile soil so that it can produce good yields,” he added.
Saarani said it was important to ensure the districts have suitable land because onions require the right type of soil to grow quality produce.
“Even though they can be planted anywhere, we need to find the most suitable land because that is what will yield good onions,” he added.
Arthur, in his speech, said one of the most commendable achievements is the successful production of Perak onions.
He said this success is the result of a collaborative effort between the Agriculture Department and the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute.
“Thus, the ministry has allocated an additional RM1.4mil to Perak to expand the cultivation area for onions this year,” he said.
It was reported in April last year that Perak was the first state in Malaysia to harvest around 2.3 tonnes of the BW1 onions at a site in Kampung Ladang Bikam.
Perak is reported to be one of six states that will be the main producer of BW1 onions for domestic consumption.
On the Fama Fest, Saarani said he was pleased there had been an increase in participants with more products, more young agropreneurs and higher sales.
“As I mention often, my slogan for Perak is ‘plant what we want to eat, eat what we plant, the surplus can be sold or donated.’”
“The goal is to encourage more people in Perak to take up farming, so that we don’t have to depend on imports.
“Sometimes we have to wait for chilies from abroad. When our currency drops, prices go up. And sometimes we wait for vegetables or meat from overseas.
“This makes us Malaysians dependent on agricultural products from other countries and that is not good,” he said.
Saarani also spoke about the impact of global happenings such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ukraine-Russia war and how prices of onions soared in India when it went through severe weather conditions.
As such, he said it is important for Malaysians, especially for the people of Perak, to get involved in farming.
