Farmers seek government's intervention on onion prices

Hubli, Oct 6 (UNI) JD(U) legislator Basavaraj Bommai and BJP MP Prahalad Joshi today urged the state government to fix support price for onion between Rs 650 to Rs.700 per quintal.

They also urged that the government should facilitate purchase of onion that could be sold at Nasik in Maharashtra which was a major onion market.

Farmers of North Karnataka where a bumper onion harvest, which began last week, was expected, want the state government to intervene early and safeguard their interests so that they could get a better price for their produce.

They fear that the expected bumper crop in this area may lead to a price crash as it had happened during earlier seasons. The moment harvest begins, the prices start declining and the growers may ultimately be forced to throw their produce in the gutter, farmer leaders feared.

But this year, with most of other crops failing due to excess rains, good onion crop was expected to come to the rescue of the farmers. The rate per quintal which should have been at Rs.400 per quintal at this time of the year, had already dropped to between Rs.200 to Rs 275. Till recently the retail consumer who bought onion at the rate ranging between Rs.8 to Rs.10 a kg, was getting it at the rate of Rs 4 to Rs. 5.

In Dharwad district, onion being the major commercial crop, had been grown in over 70,000 acres of land. The growers were expecting a total yield of around six lakh tones or more. The production cost was at Rs. 300 per quintal and if the rates fall any further, the farmer would be put to great loss and it would be a waste even to sell the produce in the market, growers feel.

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