Despair in Maharashtra: Farmer Burns Onion Crop After Dismal Returns
A farmer from Solapur, who left a civil engineering career to take up agriculture, was compelled to set fire to his standing onion crop after receiving a paltry 67 paise per kilogram at the Kolhapur Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC). The amount was insufficient to even cover his labour expenses, highlighting the severe distress among onion growers in the region.
Lakhan Mane, a resident of Begampur village in Mohol tehsil, traveled nearly 200 kilometers to the Kolhapur APMC, hoping to secure a better price than the 50 paise per kilogram offered at the Solapur market. However, he returned disillusioned and destroyed what remained of his harvest.
“Hoping that onions will get a reasonable price at least in the Kolhapur APMC, I decided not to take my produce to the Solapur APMC, which is just 50 kilometers from my place. At the Solapur APMC, farmers are getting prices as low as 50 paise. However, I was dismayed, and upon returning from Solapur, I burnt the onion in the fields,” said Mane, who completed his civil engineering degree in 2016 but chose farming to support his parents.
Mane had cultivated onions on two acres of land. On May 8, he transported 100 sacks, each weighing about 55 kilograms, to the Kolhapur APMC. A trader paid him a total of just Rs 3,700, which translates to roughly 67 paise per kilogram. His story is not an isolated incident. Just days earlier, another farmer from Barshi traveled 270 kilometers to Kolhapur and received only Re 1 per kilogram for his produce.
Market Dynamics and Quality Issues
Manoj Salunkhe, the head of the onion department at the Kolhapur APMC, explained the circumstances behind the low prices. “We know the Barshi farmer had bought onions of low grade. His produce might have gotten damaged in rain, as was evident from water dripping from the sacks. The onions had no cover left. The merchant was not ready to buy the stock, however the farmer kept on insisting and demanding at least Rs 2 per kg. If the merchant denied, then it would have been a further burden on the farmer, who would have to pay again for transportation to take the produce to some other market. He had nearly 40 sacks with 50 kg onion each. It is a norm followed by the traders to draw a bill at Rs 1 per kg rate for produce of such quality, which eventually goes into waste bin,” Salunkhe said.
Salunkhe also noted that even the best-quality onions are currently fetching only Rs 12 to 13 per kilogram, far below sustainable levels. “The onion supply to the APMCs has increased as there are restrictions on export due to war and other factors. This time of the year, there is usually demand from Kerala and southern states but the merchants there are not ready to place the order,” he added.
The situation underscores the plight of farmers caught between rising input costs and plummeting market prices, exacerbated by export restrictions and weak domestic demand. As onion prices crash, many growers are left with no option but to destroy their own produce.
