Onion growers' body seeks Rs 1 lakh per acre for crop damage due to rains in Maharashtra

Mumbai: An onion growers' association in Maharashtra has demanded a compensation of Rs 1 lakh per acre for farmers who lost their crop due to severe rainfall in the state last month.

Maharashtra is the largest onion-producing state in the country.

In a letter written to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on May 29, the Maharashtra Rajya Kanda Utpadak Sanghatna also asked for "transparent" onion procurement by the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED).

Maharashtra received unprecedented rainfall in May, it pointed out.

Onion-producing districts such as Jalgaon, Dhule, Nashik, Ahilyanagar, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Pune, Solapur, Beed, Dharashiv, Sangli, Buldhana, Akola, Parbhani and Jalna were severely affected by rains, the letter said.

Due to heavy rainfall across the state since May 6, there has been a significant damage to the onion crop across the state, said the letter signed by the association's president Bharat Dighole and its Nashik district chief Jaydeep Bhadane.

Many farmers lost their entire Rabi season crop before it could be harvested, it said, seeking a compensation of Rs 1 lakh per acre.

The association further said that onions which had been harvested but not stored were also damaged, and demanded a subsidy of Rs 2,000 per quintal for farmers who were forced to sell their crop at a low price.

"Due to continuous heavy rains, thousands of tons of onions have rotted in the fields, causing farmers losses to the tune of crores of rupees," it claimed.

"We urge the state government to urgently and accurately assess the damage and provide immediate compensation," the association said.

The NAFED and the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation should procure three lakh tons of onions for the central buffer stock directly from farmers through the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs) at a minimum rate of Rs 3,000 per quintal, the letter said.