Every year, it is said that almost a quarter of the country's total output of onions - which in 2020-21 stood at 3.3 million metric tonnes -  ends up wasted, going rotten due to bacterial infection, or exposure to excessive heat and vapour. That would equate to 825,000 MT of wasted onions in 2020-21. But this year, farmers in the country’s southwest have started reaping the benefits of using a new technology in the preservation of their perishable crops. An air flow machine, already being dubbed the ‘Air Conditioner (AC) for Onions’, - although the technique can be and is used in storage of other items as well-  is helping Faridpur's onion farmers to prevent a significant portion of their produce from going rotten. For the last couple of years, Bangladesh has been increasing its annual output of onions. But the country still has to import huge amounts of onion every year to meet demand. Both the importers and the local farmers incur losses due to surplus onions in the market, as prices come down and the product starts to rot. The air flow machine has arrived as a solution to this two-pronged problem. Also read: Bangladesh to export onions in 2-3 years: Agricultural Minister The cost-effective innovation, long in use in other parts of the world, is being championed in Bangladesh by a team of Southwestern Coordinated Water Resources Planning and Management Project-Phase II. The cost of setting up an Air Flow Machine is only Tk 15,000-Tk 20,000.