Thousands of farmers in Gujarat’s Amreli and Bhavnagar districts are in tears due to crash in prices of onions currently fetching ₹25-30 per 20kg, way below their production cost.
Angered by the government’s apathy, hundreds of farmers threw truck loads of onions on the roads to show their anger and frustration.
In Saurashtra region, the acreage under onion has increased with new pockets in the region taking up cultivation. This in turn has resulted in bumper production leading to crash in prices.
“More than 500 farmers of 10 villages of my area threw their entire produce on the roads because of low prices. To produce 20 kg onion, a farmer invests more than ₹75-85 that includes inputs like fertilisers, water, seed and labour costs. He is now getting only ₹25-30 per 20 kg,” Congress legislator of Amreli constituency told The Hindu . The price crash, he said, has affected more than 1.5 lakh farmers in Amreli and Bhavnagar districts.
“I had planted onion in eight acres land. I will not recover even one-third of my investment,” said Punjabhai Ahir, from Bhavnagar district. The government, he said, must fix a remunerative price of onion at ₹100 per 20 kg.
Former agriculture minister and senior BJP leader Dilip Sanghani concurred that onion farmers were in distress. “I am aware of their plight and will take up the issue with the state and central authorities.”
