MUMBAI: An onion farmer in Maharashtra, frustrated over the low price he fetched for his produce, has sent all his earnings from the sale of 750 kg of onions to the Prime Minister’s Office by money order.
Sanjay Sathe of Nashik sold the onions at a mere Rs1.50 per kg, described by Agriculture Produce Market Committee officials as the lowest price in 10 years. “I’ve been growing onions for the past few years and have hardly been able to recover the cost. But, this year the situation is worse. I got only `1.5 per kg,” said Sathe, who earned `1,064 from the sale.
“Even for earlier lots the rates were around Rs 3 per kg while my production cost is around `6 per kg,” he said.
Owner of two acres of land, Sathe was among the farmers selected to meet former US President Barack Obama during his visit to Mumbai in 2010 for using technology to make agriculture climate-resilient. He has a vineyard on half of his land, on the rest he grows seasonal crops and vegetables.
“All efforts go waste when crops fail to fetch good rates,” he said. “Other farmers dump onions on their fields to rot or just throw them on the road to register their protest. I don’t think it’s the right way to protest and hence I sent the amount to the PMO to highlight the issue,” he added.
The onions he sold at `1.5 per kg were harvested in March. “Like most other farmers, I had stored them in the hope of getting good rates now. But, the onion rates haven’t moved up and we had to sell them at low rates,” Sathe said.
Onion trader Ajay Soni blamed excess production for the poor rates. “Onion grown in summer is low in moisture content and has a better shelf life. But, it adversely affects the taste and the price. Kharif onion hits the market around this time. It fetches a good price since it is fresh,” Soni said, explaining the reasons behind the low prices.
He also said the rates were likely to go up once the old onions are sold out and a fresh batch reaches the market.
“The situation can change only if export restrictions are done away with,” said Jaydatt Holkar, the chairman of the Lasalgaon APMC.