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Time of India

Onion farmers protest, seek govt intervention to stabilise price

Nashik: A section of onion farmers from Nashik district staged a protest at the collector's office on Tuesday, demanding govt intervention to mitigate the price crash. They warned of a more intense agitation if their demands weren't addressed within a week. The farmers, members of the Kanda Utpadak Shetkari Sangharsha Samiti, submitted a memorandum to the administration, outlining their demands to govt. These include launching a market intervention scheme (MIS) immediately, setting an onion procurement price of Rs 2,500 per quintal, adopting the MIS model used in Madhya Pradesh, increasing export subsidies for high-quality onions, providing insurance for stored crops and other relief measures. "Our demand is simple. If govt is quick to intervene when onion prices inch up, it should show same alacrity when the prices hit rock bottom," Deepak Pagar, who was leading the farmers from Niphad, Sinnar and Malegaon belt, said. The farmers were vexed with central and state govts policies, which often caused more harm to the onion growers than help. "Normally, we'd store our summer harvest of onions with long shelf life, waiting for better prices. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Live the Amalfi Dream with Serenitaly Serenitaly Learn More Undo But this year, the rains since May have caused the onions to rot. With prices already low, we can't sell them, and storing them would just mean throwing away what's left," Pagar said. The farmers wanted to meet the Nashik collector, but he was away for training. They then met resident deputy collector Rohitkumar Rajput, seeking a dialogue with govt or the agriculture minister. "We waited for two hours, but did not get any hearing. We are going back now with a heavy heart. We will come back with intense agitation if your demands are not paid heed to," Pagar said.