‘Will set trucks on fire’: Maharashtra farmers’ outfit leader slams Centre’s move to sell procured onion in open market

In a note issued earlier this week, Pagar said the central government’s decision to offload the procured onions in the open market would depress their wholesale prices. The bulb is now trading between Rs 1,280-1,360 per quintal in the Lasalgaon market, India’s largest wholesale onion market. “Our cost of production is not realised at this price,” Pagar explained.

Threatening to ambush government agency trucks carrying onions, Pagar said, “The government should distribute the procured onions through the Public Distribution System (PDS), or they can dump it into the sea. Any move to offload the onion in the open market will be opposed by us.”

The Rayat Kranti Sanghatana is aligned with the ruling NDA government, but Khot, a farmer leader from Maharashtra’s Sangli district, recently toed a different line by saying that the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, 2015, which prevents the slaughter of cows, bulls and bullocks, was against farmers. Speaking out against cow vigilantes in the state, he had alleged that gaurakshaks often resorted to extortion.

Earlier this year, the central government had through its agencies, the National Cooperative Agricultural Marketing Federation (NAFED) and the National Cooperative Consumer Federation (NCCF), procured the rabi onion to help stabilise the market. Last week, the Centre launched the retail sale of procured onions at Rs 24 per kg in certain cities, initiating the targeted release from the government buffer to make the essential vegetable available to consumers at affordable prices.

The domestic disposal of onions has also been criticised by Bharat Dighole, the president of the Maharashtra Onion Growers Association. Dighole said the central government should announce export subsidies and ensure the procured onion is exported.

“We have asked our members to call their elected representatives and ask them to press for an onion subsidy,” he said. Dighole also demanded subsidies for growers who have incurred losses due to the low onion prices.