After Rajbari, Faridpur has become the latest casualty of the onion storage crisis, with persistent power outages disrupting preservation and pushing farmers deeper into financial losses.
A prolonged electricity crisis has crippled onion storage facilities in Faridpur, causing onions stored in homes and government-supported storage units to rot.
Low market prices, coupled with chronic power outages, have plunged thousands of onion farmers into financial distress. Although this season produced a record onion harvest, unreliable electricity has severely disrupted storage, transforming a bumper crop into a source of heavy losses.
Two upazilas---Saltha and Nagarkanda upazilas are the district's largest commercial onion-producing areas.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Faridpur, the district produced approximately 751,635 tonnes of onions during the current season—significantly higher than the previous year's output.
Faridpur is the country’s second largest onion producing district.
Farmers allege that the government-supplied airflow machines used for onion storage require uninterrupted electricity for several hours to function effectively. With frequent load-shedding, many rural areas receive only two to three hours of electricity a day, preventing proper ventilation inside storage facilities and accelerating spoilage.
Farmer Nakib Ullah of Saltha said onions are currently selling for Tk 800 to Tk 900 per maund, while production costs range between Tk 1,600 and Tk 1,700 per maund. Once storage expenses and losses from rotting onions are added, the financial burden becomes even greater.
Another farmer, Harunur Rashid from Nagarkanda, said the lack of sufficient cold storage facilities or modern warehouses forces farmers to sell their onions at low prices. With proper storage facilities, they could have waited for more favorable market prices instead of selling immediately.
Several farmers said most of this year's crop consists of hybrid onion varieties, which spoil more quickly than traditional varieties. Excessive heat, coupled with prolonged power outages, has further worsened the situation. Many farmers cultivated onions using bank loans and are now struggling to repay their installments.
The Department of Agricultural Extension said it distributed 1,430 airflow machines during the 2024–25 fiscal year and another 700 units this year to improve onion storage. Plans are also underway to supply approximately 2,500 additional machines.
However, officials acknowledge that the machines cannot deliver their intended benefits without a reliable electricity supply.
Deputy Director of the Faridpur DAE, Md. Shahaduzzaman, said to the Daily Sun that airflow machines are designed to operate efficiently with three to four hours of continuous electricity. Although the newer machines are equipped with automatic sensors, their effectiveness is severely reduced when power supply remains unstable.
He also noted that this year's onions are larger than usual, contain more moisture, and therefore have a shorter storage life.
According to the Faridpur Rural Electrification Board, the district's peak electricity demand stands at 125 to 130 megawatts, while actual supply falls short by 25 to 30 percent.
Senior General Manager S. M. Nasir Uddin said severe load-shedding over the past week has made it impossible to provide uninterrupted electricity for three to four hours at a time, directly affecting the operation of airflow machines used for onion preservation.
Another official seeking anonymity said they have nothing to do. Electricity crisis is a national problem now.
He does not believe the problem will be resolved until production reaches a sufficient level.
Agricultural experts warn that increasing production alone will not protect farmers' incomes unless reliable electricity and modern storage facilities are ensured.