Onions are emerging as a representative crop of Hamyang-gun with the introduction of the ‘onion seedling transplanter’

Onions grown in Hamyang-gun have higher sugar content and are firmer than regular onions, so they can be stored for a long time. In particular, with the introduction of the ‘onion seedling transplanter,’ onion production reached 51,000 tons (611 farms, 691 ha) in 2022, and although the number of farms decreased slightly in 2023, production (55,500 tons) and cultivation area (701 ha) actually increased.

Onions grown in germanium soil

Jeollanam-do and Gyeongsangnam-do account for 46% and 23% of onion production in the county, respectively, and Hamyang-gun produces 5% of the total. “There are about 500 farms in Hamyang-gun growing onions, with an area of 800 ha, accounting for about 5% of the national onion production. Although the production volume is not large in terms of total production, 5% is a production volume that can affect the price of onions when it is produced insufficiently or more than the annual production volume, so we are proud of growing onions” says the Korea Onion Producers Association Vice President Lee Hong-ju. In general, onion farms are mostly built with field farming, but in Hamyang, onions are produced in paddy fields. Nutritionally, there’s not much difference, but in terms of shelf life, onions harvested from non-farmed fields will last much longer.  “Cultivated onions are harvested in June and can be stored and sold until the following January. Because of this good storage, the market price is better than regular onions, so we are always striving to make our farmers get a little more money for their differentiated farming” says Lee.

Reducing labor costs and increasing production with the ‘onion seedling transporter’

With a daily wage of 20,000 won, Lee earned 300,000 won in a week and suggested to his parents that they start an onion farm. In 1997, he plowed the bottom of 9,917 square meters of rice paddies and started planting onions, and with his penny-pinching savings, he bought a tractor for 20 million won. The tractor allowed them to make about 30 million won in sales in their first year of onion farming. Today, he farms onions on a 15,000-square-foot (5 ha) field. He uses various machines which contributes to efficiency of onion farming and overcoming the labor shortage in Hamyang. Hamyang County purchases farm equipment and rents it out to farmers at a 1% rent. Thanks to this, farmers can use farm equipment worth 50 million won for only 500,000 won a year. One of the reasons Hamyang County is so aggressive about mechanization is the significant savings in labor about 30%. By hand, it took 98.9 hours of labor per 10A (300 square meters), but with the machine, it took 84% less time (16.3 hours) and cost 28% less. This means that manual labor requires 12 days of 8-hour days, but machines only require 2 days. In addition, storing in mesh (wire mesh) pallets compared to the standard 20 kg netting reduces harvesting costs by 27%, harvesting time by 57%, and labor by 60%. In 2020, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs established the mandatory self-help fund together with the Korea Onion Producers Association. Lee is the chairman of the Onion Mandatory Self-help Fund Management Committee. “Hamyang County provides 50% support for farms that introduce machinery. The county also does not spare support for rain shelters and pesticide costs (KRW 240 million) to prevent damage from continuous cropping. We will do our best to make Hamyang County a pioneer in onion cultivation mechanization nationwide through close cooperation with Hamyang County and the Agricultural Technology Center” says Lee.