SUNGAI SIPUT, April 18 — The Perak government will develop a BAW-1 red onion cultivation project in Perak Tengah this year, with a target area of around 40 hectares, following the recent success of the first local red onion planting project in Sungkai.

State Rural Development, Plantation, Agriculture and Food Industries Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Zolkafly Harun said the project will be made possible by the Perak State Agricultural Development Corporation (Perak SADC), in collaboration with the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi).

"This is a continuation of the success of the first local red onion cultivation project in Sungkai, recently, which has yielded results.

"For this project, Perak SADC will provide land for this red onion planting in Lambor, which is one of the areas in Perak Tengah, assisted by Mardi,” he said.

He said this at the Aidilfitri Open House at the Sungai Siput Convention Centre, here today, which was attended by more than 3,000 people from around the Sungai Siput Parliamentary constituency.

Mohd Zolkafly said that the production of red onions through the project is also expected to meet demand in the state.

"We will also expand this project to other districts which have suitable areas, and our goal is to make Perak the hub of local red onion production,” he said.

In other developments, he said that the hot weather and the El Nino phenomenon, currently affecting the country, did not affect the production of agriculture and livestock in Perak.

Thus far he said that there have been no reports or complaints from any farmers or breeders who have experienced problems related to the weather conditions.

"If there are complaints regarding this problem, I ask farmers, breeders and related parties to contact the relevant department or agency directly, so that it can be dealt with appropriately,” he said. — Bernama