Onion farmers in the Indian state of Gujarat are grappling with severe financial losses, as they are unable to sell their crops at a price that covers their production costs. The farmers claim that once they reach the market with their harvest, prices drop dramatically, and there is no support mechanism in place to help them.
Jitendra Gohil, a farmer from the Mahuva region, lamented that traders are offering just 7.50 to 9 rupees per kilogram of onion, while the cost of production is almost double. He fears losing up to 100,000 rupees from the five acres of land he has used for growing onions.
According to Ghanshyam Patel, the Chairman of the Mahuva Agricultural Produce Market Committee, the decline in prices is due to two reasons. Firstly, the late harvest of the Kharif crop has led to a glut in the market, with supply far outstripping demand. Secondly, the expected high production levels in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are reducing the demand for imported onions from Gujarat.
Gujarat is a major onion-producing state in India, with Bhavnagar district being the largest producer. In 2020-21, onions were grown on 67,736 hectares in Gujarat, rising to 99,413 hectares in 2021-22.
According to rough estimates, farmers are spending 220 rupees to produce 20 kilograms of onions, but they are only receiving an average of 150 rupees, resulting in a loss of 70 rupees per 20 kilograms of production. With an average yield of 25 metric tons of onions per hectare, farmers are losing around 50,000 to 100,000 rupees per hectare.
The Crop Weather Watch Group’s December report revealed that 1.85 lakh hectares of land were used for growing onions during the Kharif season, with 40,000 hectares affected by heavy rain or other factors. In the Rabi season, the target was to sow onions on 9.52 lakh hectares, with 4.90 lakh hectares sown by December 2022 in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, and Tamil Nadu.
Trader Manubhai Patel from the Bhavnagar Agricultural Produce Market Committee stated that farmers need better information about market trends to make informed decisions about their crops. He suggested that increasing value-added products, such as onion paste, could bring relief to farmers and help them secure better prices.
(Inputs from IANS)
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