To arrest the steep fall in onion prices and protect farmers’ interest, the State government on Friday decided to procure onion at Rs. 624 a quintal in major crop growing districts.
Procurement would commence from November 2 in 10 districts - Dharwad, Gadag, Davanagere, Chitradurga, Ballari, Chikkamagaluru, Haveri, Vijayapura, Raichur, and Koppal - from Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs).
Following a glut in production, the State government has urged the Centre to provide financial aid to procure the commodity in the State, which is one of the largest crop growing States. Currently, the production of onion stood at 23 lakh tonnes which was grown in 3.5 lakh acres.
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Addressing presspersons here, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T.B. Jayachandra, who also heads the Cabinet committee on agricultural crops, said the Karnataka Marketing Federation would procure the commodity under the market intervention scheme. A sum of Rs. 50 crore had been released for the purpose.
The Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday discussed the crash in prices of onion in the State and decided to seek Central aid for procurement of the commodity at Rs. 11 per kg from growers. But the Centre has expressed its ability to procure only one lakh tonnes of onion, Mr. Jayachandra said.
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A central team will visit Karnataka on November 2 to assess the crop loss owing to due to drought and recent floods in north Karnataka districts.
The State government sought assistance of Rs. 3,375 crore for providing compensation for farmers who had lost crops. Ministers Kagodu Thimmappa and Krishna Byre Gowda met Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and submitted a memorandum on Thursday.
The State has also sought a financial assistance of Rs 120.13 crore to help those farmers who have not sown paddy in the Cauvery command area districts, Mr. Jayachandra added.