Nadi based Airavata Agriculture launched a new onion variety, Charlotte last week. Charlotte grows well in tropical lowland conditions and can be grown in both early and main seasons.
Airavata Agriculture chief operation officer Kavit Karan said the new variety would create new revenue streams for commercial and local farmers.
“Everybody is working towards import substitution so we wonder why we don’t try bringing in locally produced Charlottes’ and see if we can make an impact on the importation of onions,” Mr Karan said.
“At the end of the day, locally produced onions will be better for the farmers and the consumers, it will give them a new commodity to sell and give them more options to mass produce.
“This variety is more geared to commercial farmers, or farmers who have a land holding of more than two to three acres who can afford to keep an acre for Charlotte farming,” he added.
“I think there is a market here in Fiji, hotels, and resorts may prefer it as well and also we have seen imported Charlottes’ in local supermarkets and this is a good opportunity for local farmers to create new revenue streams.”
Seedlings can be ordered directly from its sister company, KK’s Hardware Building Supplies in Nadi.
“Airavata Agriculture is here to bring in new varieties,” Mr Karan said.
The East-West seed ‘Charlotte’ onion comes in a 100-gram pack and costs $37.95. One packet can be planted in more than one acre of land and produces five to seven tonnes of onions.
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