COIMBATORE: Shallot farmers in Thondamuthur and Perur blocks of Coimbatore district are on tenterhooks as traders are not keen to buy their produce harvested late last year. As their wait for buyers prolongs, around 600 tons of shallots which have been stored in sheds on agricultural lands may start to rot now.
Desperate, around 200 shallot farmers in these blocks have urged the agricultural department to help them market it. They claimed that as traders have not shown interest to buy the onion stored in sheds in the season, they face a huge loss if they could not sell the stock in hand soon.
Shallot or small onion cultivation is widely spread in Theethipalayam, Kuppanur, Arumugagoundanur, Mathampatti, Mathvarayapuram, Pooluwapatti, Nathegoundanpudur, Semmedu, Narasipuram, Devarayapuram, Thennamanallur in Perur and Thondamuthur blocks.
Shallot cultivation is carried out as the southwest-monsoon season starts in June. The short-term crop is then harvested within 70 days.
Farmers also cultivate the small onion in the October-December rainy season. It is the crop harvested in December that has gone unsold so far as no traders have shown interest to buy them.
R Periyasamy, the vice-president of the Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, said, "Shallot farmers often store the produce in a shed erected in the farmland as they await a fair price when there is a good demand. The harvested small onions can be stored in the warehouse for up to 150 days. During storage, high ventilation is required. They spend Rs 20,000 to erect a temporary storage shed. They have stored the small onions expecting a fair price in the season. But, traders kept away after the arrival of a large quantity of onion from different areas, especially the Dindigul and Ottanchathram markets."
"Farmers are unable to sell the stored small onions in the market now. At the market we get a maximum price of Rs 35 per kg. Even at this rate, traders are not ready to buy from the farmgate. Around 200 farmers have been anxiously waiting for buyers as their product would otherwise get ruined in the next 30 days," he said.
He urged the agricultural department to help farmers by procuring small onions through the agri-marketing department.
R Praksh, a farmer from Theethipalayam village said, "I have stored the small onions cultivated in my field. It will get ruined if unsold by next month. Farmers who cultivate small onions in the late season do not use the stored ones for seed purpose as they would not give yield. For planting in May, onion seeds are purchased directly from farmers from the districts of Thuraiyur and Perambalur. We have no other option."