ONION SELF-SUFFICIENCY IN ZIMBABWE – AN ACHIEVABLE FEAT IN THIS DECADE

Onions are an important crop in Zimbabwe. They are consumed on a daily basis in each and every household countrywide. Yellow onions are the most favoured type by Zimbabweans with the red onions being viewed as more of a novelty type. It is a mainstream crop which by nature is supposed to be grown so widely enough by local farmers to meet the demand requirements of Zimbabwean consumers but however, we always fall short. Every single year, onion imports always trickle into the country from South Africa which according to the Trend Economy website, commands about 98% of all Zimbabwean onion imports.

Onions are relatively not difficult to produce in the Zimbabwean climate with most of the fresh and dry onion production happening during the winter period when we receive short day lengths. This is because most of the onion varieties grown locally start bulbing when they intercept light for 10-12 hours per day. The greater bulk of the onions produced are sold as fresh onions and the rest as dried. Selling these dried onions successfully is the feat which proves to be a little harder for most producers. About two to four months can pass after harvesting before the prices start to rise thus, the storage abilities of the onion variety propagated play an important role. Proper storage conditions coupled with good post-harvest handling can also help deal with this storage headache.

Seed Co Vegetables offers onion varieties that can provide solutions relating to storability of the dried onion produce. The varieties available in stores are Dina F1, Ada F1 (both yellow varieties) and Neptune F1 (a red onion variety). These are Israeli bred varieties that can be stored for up to six months under good storage conditions. High yields that can eclipse 80t per hectare can be achieved with all the aforementioned cultivars. Plantings of these onions can start as early as Mid-January to end of June. Choosing these varieties, coupled with Good Agronomic Practices can be the first step to ensuring onion self-sufficiency in Zimbabwe with the goal of being a net exporter of onions regionally.

Seed Co Vegetables has Agronomists in all the provinces of Zimbabwe who are at your service for free once you purchase any of their vegetable seed varieties. Feel free to get in touch with them for any onion enquiries, agronomy tips and after sales support. For any quick Whatsapp enquiries, get in touch with our Digital Desk on +263 785 883 702.

Article By:

Francis B. Mapindani

Seed Co Vegetables Sales Agronomist – Mashonaland East

+263 778 138 897

 AND

Brian Nyandoro

Seed Co Vegetables Product Development Assistant

+263 779 270 369