The KOrea Program on International Agriculture (KOPIA) Sri Lanka Centre donated 25 drip irrigation system units, 40 power spreading machines, and 1,000 plastic containers to transport onion mother-bulbs for vernalization to 40 Sri Lankan farmers in Gelenbindunuwewa, Hambantota and Mannar.
Since 2015, the KOPIA Centre has been assisting with onion production in Sri Lanka, in cooperation with the Field Crops Research and Development Institute (FCRDI) of the Department of Agriculture, Mahailluppallama. The project aims to improve onion productivity by using Korean agricultural technologies, and accordingly to help Sri Lankan farmers to be self-sufficient.
During the implementation of the project, the Centre established three model farm villages for onion production at Mannar, Galenbindunuwewa and Hambantota, including four onion storages (165m2), each of which comprises 12 shelves at five levels. The Centre also donated basic agricultural equipment and 2 ha rain shelters (500m2) to 40 Sri Lanka farmers.
Thanks to the Centre’s efforts, the Sri Lankan farmers benefited from the shared agricultural technologies on onion production transferred by Korean agricultural experts and Sri Lankan researchers of FCRDI.
One of the technologies is to transport onion mother-bulbs to Nuwaraeliya for vernalization and then return them to the origin fields. Onions were cultivated in 4 ha field of poly-tunnels in Galenbindunuwewa and Hambantota for 2016-17, and about 800 kg and 400 kg of the crops will be harvested in the respective areas.