The condition of farmers in Gujarat is not any better than their counterparts in other states. They are forced to sell onions at Rs 0.55 per kg.
According to a report in The Hindu, Dharmendra Narshi Patel, a farmer from Kotda Sangani village in Rajkot district, had moist eyes as he sold 3,590 kg of onion for Rs 1,974.50 at the Agri Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) in Gondal on December 25. Similarly, other farmers in the Saurashtra region are also worried as they are not fetching a decent price for their produce.
Not just onions, these farmers are having a tough time selling garlic too. The Hindu quoted a farmer as saying that they are selling garlic from Rs 20 to Rs 80 per 20 kg in APMCs. What this means that prices for garlic stand at Rs 1-4 per kg. As a result of the low rates, thousands of farmers are stocking their produce instead of selling it in the market.
“Across the region, garlic and onion growers are selling at a loss. They don’t even realise their basic costs of labour and inputs,” said Virji Thummar, Congress Lok Sabha MP from Amreli district.
Another farmer, Bhikhabhai Markana from Kalavad in Jamnagar district, told The Hindu that he harvested about 40 quintals of onion and ended up selling 23 quintals at the Rajkot AMPC at Rs 40 per 20 kg, which fetch him Rs 200 per quintal. Markana added, “My cost including labour, inputs like seed, fertiliser and irrigation is Rs 12,000 for the two bighas of onion, and I would sell the produce for about Rs 8,000-10,000 at current market price.”
Underlining the plight of farmers, Balubhai Ahir from Khirsara village in Rajkot district informed The Hindu that more than two lakh sacks of garlic were lying in farmers’ houses in about 12 villages in Jetpur taluka.
Also read: Throw Onions at Ministers if They Don’t Listen to You: Raj Thackeray to Farmers