Farmers in Madhya Pradesh's Ratlam city have handed out onions for free as a symbol of protest against the minimal selling prices of the vegetable. The farmers distributed two trolleys of the vegetable which is being sold at 50 paise per kilogram in the wholesale market. However, one kilogram of onions costs Rs. seven for a farmer to grow. Click here for a short video of the farmers.
In Nashik dejected farmers are dumping their crop by the side of the road; Subhash Gangurde, a farmer from Vahegaon Sal village in Chandvad tehsil of the district, says that he is unable to cover production costs due to the lower rates in the agriculture produce market committee. He used his crop as fodder for cattle instead.
Gangurde said, "I cultivated onions on 1.5 acres with the hope of getting better prices this year. I spent Rs 120,000 to grow the crop, but the decline in prices has shattered my hopes of even breaking even. The onion prices at the APMCs have declined to the range of Rs 300 to Rs 500 per quintal. The labour cost of harvesting onions, along with transportation cost, is altogether Rs 300-400 per quintal. There is no use in selling the produce in the market."
In August last year, the average wholesale onion prices sky-rocketed to an all-time high of Rs 5,700 per quintal due to a scarcity of the product.
The average wholesale prices have declined to Rs 700 per quintal today due to the rise in supply as compared to demand. The production cost for growing onions is said to be Rs 1,000 per quintal.
Onion growers in Haryana are also worried about their fates due to the crash in prices. The vegetable has started arriving at the region’s largest wholesale onion market and farmers said they were being offered Rs 600 per quintal by traders whereas last year, the crop was sold for up to three times of the existing rates there.
Bhartiya Kisan Union president of Gurnam Singh Charuni blamed the government for the situation.
“Swaminathan Commission report categorically suggested fixing the minimum prices for onion, potato and tomatoes for benefit of the farmers. Also, by timely assessing the crop situation, the Centre could have allowed for the export of onions. It would have balanced stocks and farmers could have got better rates,” he said.
“Discouraged by low rates, farmers are bound to cut onion sowing and it will lead to soaring prices of the crop next season,” he said.
Sources: aninews.in, timesofindia.indiatimes.com, tribuneindia.com