NASHIK
Due to heavy rains this year, farmers suffered a financial loss in the Onion crop. Farmers, who have been hit by declining onion prices for the past five to six months, are at solace now.
Some improvement is seen in onion prices in November. So now they hope to recover the loss. In the Agricultural Produce Market Committee at Lasalgaon, onion fetched a maximum of Rs 3260 per quintal, a minimum of Rs 1011 and an average of Rs 2550 per quintal. But it is being said by the farmers that it will take time to recover the losses incurred in five months.
Onion has crossed the mark of 20 to 25 rupees per kg on average in the district. But, the expenses of the farmers have not been recovered as yet. Due to unseasonal rains in the state, onion producers have also suffered a lot. At the same time, many farmers had stored onions which were damaged due to prolonged heavy rains.
Hopes of the farmers who had stored onion for a better price later were washed in vain. Also, the onion of some farmers rotted after keeping it for a long time in wet humid climate. In such a situation they had to face a double crisis. Maharashtra has the highest onion production in the country. Millions of farming families are engaged in agriculture. But unfortunately, this year they have got a much lower price than the cost of the last five months. The bettering of price this passing week has raised some hopes again.
