KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia needs to cultivate 1,447ha of onions nationwide to hit its target of 30% reduction of Malaysian dependence on imported onions by 2030, said the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi).
Its director-general Zabawi Abdul Ghani said that for this purpose, Mardi has initiated small-scale cultivation of three varieties of onions for this year and next, focusing on red onions.
“Insya-Allah, we will expand the area of red onion cultivation by 2026 for our short-term strategy (to help the government reduce red onion imports),” he said after appearing as a guest on Bernama Radio’s “Temu Bual Radio” programme here.
Zabawi said the cultivation of BAW-1, BAW-2, and BAW-3 red onion varieties was being carried out in several areas in Perak and Kelantan.
“We expect to see the first yield around April or early May,” he said, adding that the quality of these onion varieties was comparable to imported red onions.