JOIN USInfavourable rain, unfriendly policies hit onion growers
Huge areas of cultivated land have turned dry destroying the crops. In such a situation several farmers who grew onion resorted to irrigating their lands using bore well water. Unfortunately the dip in onion price in the market this week has dampened their dreams of fetching good income.
When the rains failed some of the farmers decided not to let their hard work go waste. Hence they managed to irrigate their fields from the nearby bore well sources. While only a few farmers could successfully get water and thus protect the onion crops, many others failed.
Due to shortage in supply of onions, the farmers were expecting the price to shoot up but to their dismay the market price of onion dipped to Rs 12 per kg. While the farmers were trying to digest the fact that the price has dropped to Rs 12 per kg, they realised that there were no takers for onion at all and the middlemen were trying to make use of the situation as they started quoting Rs four per kg.Thammanna from Birur is one of the farmers who could save his crops using bore well water. He says that he protected his crops from various diseases by applying chemicals and fertilizers on time.
“Farmers who could save their crops are already busy cleaning onions and keeping it ready for sale. Last year we could get 150 quintal per acre but this year the situation is pathetic. Shortage of rainfall has hit us in the worst possible way,” says Thammanna adding that this year he is expecting 50 to 60 quintal onion per acre. He says that the size of the onions too has reduced drastically, which will have an impact on the yield and quantitative measures directly.
“On one hand we are trying to eke out a living and on the other hand we have to peddle fiercely to save ourselves from the clutches of the middlemen. Even the mixed crops like coriander and chilies grown along with onion have been spoilt due to shortage of rains,” says a farmer.Each farmer has to pay Rs 120 to Rs 150 per daily wage worker. Fertilisation of the land, seeds etc all put together cost about Rs 25 to 30,000 per acre. With the dip in yield and reduced size of the yield the farmers say that they are not sure of even getting back the invested amount.
Ajjampura
The situation of the onion growers in Ajjampura is no different. This year when the farmers set out to sow onion seeds, the witnessed favourable rainfall, which made them think that luck is in their favour. Unfortunately they were not aware that the region which is well known for growing commercial crop like onion was out to see a disaster. The disaster was not caused by the rainfall but it was the government policy which has made the farmers of this region shed tears.
A farmer on an average spends Rs 30-35,000 per acre. This year, the farmers have been pouring money into the field but there are no signs of reaping it back. The favourable rainfall that the region received helped in getting good yield of onion. When the market price was high the farmers started taking out onion for sale but within few days of reaping the crop, the central government imposed ban on exports of onion. This policy came as a blow on the farmers. The high price of Rs 1900 to Rs 2300 remained only for a week. The scenario changes drastically within one week of imposition of the ban.
This was followed by a series of protests by the farmers demanding permission for exports.
Soon the centre permitted exports and the farmers beamed a smile again. However this happiness was short lived because the export price which was as high as Rs 2,300 came down to Rs 500- Rs 900 suddenly.All in all whether it is due to failed rain or due to unfriendly government policy, onion growers have not got peace of mind yet.