BackMaharashtra: Govt to give compensation of ₹300/quintal to onion farmers amid price crash
Onion cultivators are battling a crisis as the prices of the kitchen staple have taken a hit at the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) in Lasalgaon, the largest wholesale onion market in Asia, in Nashik.
PremiumMaharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday announced that the state government will provide a compensation of ₹300 per quintal to onion farmers, amid the fall in onion prices. The announcement was made by the CM in the Maharashtra Assembly during the ongoing budget session of the state.
Onion cultivators are battling a crisis as the prices of the kitchen staple have taken a hit at the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) in Lasalgaon, the largest wholesale onion market in Asia, in Nashik.
The topic of onion price was also in the limelight in the budget session. In the background, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced in the Legislative Assembly today to provide a compensation of ₹300 per quintal to onion farmers who are in trouble in the state.
The price per kilogram of onion came down to ₹2 to ₹4 last week, which angered the growers, who had stopped the auction at the APMC last week for a day.
Onion production in the country is pegged higher at 318 lakh tonne in the 2022-23 crop year (July-June) against 316.98 lakh tonne in the previous year.
Onion is grown in all the states. However, Maharashtra is the leading producer with a share of around 43 per cent, Madhya Pradesh 16 per cent, and Karnataka and Gujarat contribute around 9 per cent of national production. It is harvested thrice a year, with cropping seasons during Kharif, Late Kharif and Rabi.
The harvest of rabi onion during March-May is most important as it contributes nearly 72 -75 per cent of the national production. Rabi onion's shelf life is better and therefore stored.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently told the legislature that the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India had purchased 18,743 quintals of onions from the market.
Last month, Shinde said, “We are firmly standing by the onion growers in the state. NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited) has started onion procurement and that would push the prices up." NAFED, an apex organisation under the Union Ministry of Agriculture, deals with marketing cooperatives for agricultural produce in India. “On our request, NAFED has increased its onion procurement and 2.38 lakh tonnes have already been purchased from farmers.
If a particular area does not have a procurement centre, then it will be opened for farmers," Shinde said on the second day of the budget session of the state legislature. The price per kilogram of onion came down to ₹2 to ₹4 on Monday at Maharashtra’s Lasalgaon Agriculture Produce Market Committee, Asia’s biggest onion market, prompting angry farmers to stop the auction of the bulb. “There is no ban on the export of onions. If required, farmers will get some financial assistance as well," the chief minister said.
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