Onion Farmer & Wife Find Success After RM30,000 Profit From First Harvest
The first successful harvest has motivated the couple to further expand their onion farming project.
A farmer and his wife in Pahang have recently succeeded in earning over RM30,000 from their first onion harvest
According to Berita Harian, the first successful harvest has motivated the couple to further expand their onion farming project, which they just started in September.
Starting with an area of two hectares, Azhar Arshad, 57, and his wife, Haslina Hassan, 59, plan to expand their project further with Bima Brebes onions from East Java, Indonesia, a type of onion which they learnt can generate substantial income.
"The first phase yielded nearly four tonnes of onions worth more than RM30,000, and despite facing various challenges due to lack of experience, the attempt was considered successful," said Azhar, who is a full-time oil palm plantation manager for a private company.
Azhar and his wife learned the method of planting onions from farmers in West Sumatra during a visit to Indonesia and have bigger plans for their farm.
Azhar said his wife's support has been his motivation to continue with the onion cultivation project, which has high demand in the country
He mentioned that the advantage of onion cultivation is its short maturity period of between 75 and 90 days. Additionally, the crop's maintenance is less intensive compared to other vegetables.
"The challenges of shallot farming are mainly the weather, especially rain, as the crop cannot tolerate excess water. Additionally, the crop is susceptible to fungal diseases, which cause onions to rot.
"I am confident that the second phase of the project will yield double the results compared to the previous one," said Azhar.
Driven by his deep interest in the onion cultivation project, he doesn't find it a burden to commute weekly from his home in Sepang, Selangor to his farms in Pahang
The couple also runs pineapple, coconut, cempedak, banana, durian, and jackfruit farms since five years ago.
Meanwhile, Haslina mentioned that their interest in agriculture inspired her and her husband to be involved in the onion farming project, which is still relatively new in the country compared to Indonesia and India.
"We are assisted by six workers and receive advice from the Pahang Agriculture Department and the Jerantut District Agriculture Office. We aim to become the main onion producer in Pahang," she said.
Pahang Agriculture Department director Muhd Rizal Baharom said they will continue to support farmers interested in large-scale onion cultivation in the state and hope that Azhar and his wife's efforts will inspire others to undertake the task.
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