With Plunging Prices, Maharashtra Onion Farmers Ask If Modi's Photo On Sack Pushed Up Fertiliser Price

Beed: Onion farmers in Beed district of Maharashtra are in trouble. They are claiming that they are getting less than Rs 1,000 per quintal (100 kg) of onions.

From planting to harvesting, growing an acre of onions costs about Rs 50,000. One farmer, Balaji Shinde, who harvested 16 quintals of onion in one acre, says he got only Rs 1,542 for the crop. He's asking how he will recover the expenses incurred.

"I have taken a loan of Rs 45,000 with interest from a moneylender for this season. The harvest will sell for Rs 7,000. Where will I get the remaining money? I had also begun building a house based on the expected income from this year's crop. But that too has now stopped. Should I now pay the moneylender or build a house?" asked Shinde, adding, "Our demand is that the government should do something to increase the price of onion, give a guaranteed price for onion," he added.

"It costs us about Rs 50-60,000 to grow an acre of onion. Now we have nothing left in our hands, and no option but to commit suicide. The government should find some alternative, or allow us to cultivate ganja or opium. No representative raises a question about onions in the Assembly, but before elections, they fall on our feet," said another farmer Ashok Shinde.

Ashok also said, "Those who are elected at our expense do not pay attention to us. A bag of fertiliser costs Rs 2,000. It has Modi's photo on it. Has the price of fertilisers increased because of that?"

"The government is like our guardian, they should give us a fair price for our crop. They should stop schemes like Namo Shetkari, PM Kisan, and give us a guaranteed price for crops. It's a shame that onions are being sold at Rs 5-6 per kg. Do we deserve any value for the three months we worked in the fields?" he added.

Farmer Vaibhav Shinde said traders should not be allowed to fix the price of farmers' produce.

Across the state in Nashik, which is known as Maharashtra's onion district, the crash in onion prices is being especially felt at the Lasalgaon Agricultural Produce Market Committee, the biggest wholesale market for onions. Here, the average market price of onions has fallen below Rs 1,000.

Earlier in the day, when Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis arrived in Nashik for the Vishwa Marathi Sammelan, farmers attempted to stop his car. It required intervention from the police, who detained the agitators, for the CM to reach his destination. Later, Fadnavis assured farmers that he will solve the onion farmers' issue.

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