Onion farmers' body demands financial relief from state govt
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ashik: The Maharashtra Onion Growers Association (MOGA) has urged state govt to provide immediate financial relief to onion farmers affected by recent bouts of heavy showers.
According to Bharat Dighole, President of MOGA, continuous rainfall has led to rotting of onion crops across thousands of acres.
Major onion-producing districts such as Nashik, Ahilyanagar, Jalgaon, Dhule, Chhatrapati Sambhajingar, Pune, Solapur, Beed, and Sangli have been significantly impacted, with farmers unable to harvest their produce due to the incessant downpour.
"Onions kept in the fields after harvest were also damaged due to the rainfall.
Hence, state govt should provide financial relief of Rs1 lakh per acre to farmers for damage to onion crops. Additionally, a grant of Rs2,000 per quintal should be given to the farmers who sold their produce at a lower rate due to a drop in wholesale prices caused by faulty policies of the govt," Dighole said.
The association on Thursday sent letters to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and two deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, highlighting their demands.
Dighole said the Centre already announced the procurement of 3 lakh tonnes under Price Stability Funds to create a buffer stock through central govt agencies — the National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (Nafed) and the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Limited (NCCF). "We want both the central agencies to procure onions directly from onion farmers at the Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMCs) at Rs3,000 per quintal," he said.
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