'Onions bring down governments' is false narrative harming the crop, farmers: Pasha Patel

Mumbai: The unscientific claim that 'onions bring down governments' has proven harmful to onions and onion farmers, said Pasha Patel, the Chairman of State Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, who also heads the Maharashtra government recently-appointed panel to look into the issue of onions.

“The first objective of the committee should be to dispel the fear about onions in the minds of policymakers,” said Patel, who has the status of a Cabinet minister.

"To permanently resolve the onion issue, the intricacies of onion production and export policies over the past fifteen years will be studied in the committee’s work. Care will be taken to ensure no disruptions occur in exports under any circumstances. Accurate information about onion cultivation should be available to farmers. The proportion of onions lost due to spoilage is significant. Saving these onions and regularly exporting the surplus should be the core focus of the policy,” Patel said at a meeting in Pune.

”Despite being produced for only three months of the year, the potato model, which has achieved price stabilization through cold chains and balanced market demand-supply, will be studied to formulate a sustainable policy for onions, adopting a five-pronged approach of consistent exports, minimum support price, processing, and cultivation methods," he said.

The preliminary meeting of the committee, formed under Patel to suggest an onion policy and various initiatives for Maharashtra, was held at the office of the Marketing Directorate in Pune.

The meeting was attended by Marketing Director Vikas Rasal, onion exporter Danish Shah, agricultural market analyst expert Deepak Chavan, Suhas Kale from the Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board, Dr. Srinivas Ayyangar from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management, Deputy Director (Marketing) Mohan Nimbalkar.

Speaking on the occasion, Deepak Chavan said, ”For the first time, a comprehensive committee has been formed to determine the onion policy. As a leading onion-producing and exporting state, this committee should prepare an onion handbook, which will provide every farmer and policymakers with a vision document in the future.”

On the occasion, an onion exporter Danish Shah said, ”More focus should be given to onion productivity in the future rather than just production. If the current per-acre yield of five to six tons can be increased to 18 to 20 tons, farmers can get better prices."

“There is no other crop like onions that offers a 100 per cent return on investment. Out of the country’s 25 million tons of onion production, only 16 to 17 million tons are needed for consumption. Storing the remaining onions and using them throughout the year is the key issue,” he added.

“A family consumes four to five kilos of onions per month. If onions spoiling during the monsoon can be saved through proper storage, the shortage that occurs every October and November can be prevented, he pointed out.

Stored onions lose 25 per cent of their weight. Since onions contain moisture, they should be harvested with their leaves intact, without cutting the neck.

Concerns were raised during the committee’s meeting about increased onion spoilage in June due to humidity caused by early rains in May this year.