THOOTHUKUDI: The harvest of onion crops grown at a time when monsoon rains have been scarce had led to a very low yield when compared to the previous years. Farmers harvested over 200 kg per acre as against the normal yield of 1,500 kg. Adding to their woes, insurance for the onion crop has not yet been announced.
Banking on good monsoon, farmers cultivated onion on over 2,800 hectares in Thoothukudi district in the current fiscal, exceeding the previous years’ coverage of 1,600 hectare. The crop was extensively cultivated in Vilathikulam taluk, literally a rain-fed region in the district.
Though poor rainfall posed a risk, the three-month crop managed to survive the drought. But with the yield going down, the farmers are struggling to even make up for the input cost.
Varadharajan, a farmer, told Express that after the first shower, there was no sign of rain, which led to a severe yield loss.
“We expected rain at the time when the crop reached flowering stage. But rain gods did not bless us,” he said. Farmers had invested over Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 for raising onion in an acre. But the yield has been as low as 200 kg per acre, which the traders procure for Rs 10 each. An acre of onion crop yields around 1,500 kg a year, he said. Adding fuel to the fire, the onion is among the five crops awaiting a government order on insurance. The last date for the crop insurance is January 15. Over 5,000 onion farmers had not insured the crops.
With a heavy loss, farmers had appealed to the government to declare the state as drought hit and had demanded compensation of Rs 25,000 per acre.