Onion producers desperate to sell crop before rains

BHOPAL: Raja Sawalia, 47, a farmer of Sehore stares at the clouds as he stands behind hundreds of tractor trolleys laden with onions waiting their turn to sell them at Karond mandi here.

Will his turn come before the monsoon sets in and damages his over 60 quintals of onion loaded in two tractor trolleys? He has been standing here for the past three days and he is nowhere near the mandi gates. He fears once his onions become soggy and start rotting, the authorities won’t buy them. “I am hoping to sell the onions at ₹50,000; it will help me pay off my loans, with enough left for kids’ school fees.”

With monsoon likely to hit MP in two days, thousands of farmers anxiously wait their turn in the 65 purchasing centres.

Farmers like Naushad Khan, 53, from a village in Berasia got so fed up with the unending wait outside the mandi that he decided to sell his onions directly to consumers in Gyaraso at ₹8 per kg.

He is often shooed by local municipal corporation officials. “I am desperate. I have to sell the onions and go back home. I can’t wait ... as I have to prepare my fields for Kharif crop.”

The state government’s decision to procure onions at ₹8 per kg might have been a breather for farmers, but the actual relief to them is still awaited.

Though officials are not saying it openly, rotten onions are not being bought. PC Meena, agriculture production commissioner, said, “This is for you to understand. Who will buy rotten onions. But the onions we purchased are our responsibility.”

The government could incur an estimated loss of nearly ₹600 crore, say experts.

Dnyaneshwar Patil, managing director of Markfed, said they have procured 3.6 lakh metric tonnes, but they estimate the will go up to at least 6 lakh metric tonnes. However, this is 15-20% of the estimated bumper production of 34 lakh metric tonnes this year in Madhya Pradesh.