While the Centre went on the backfoot after the onion crisis of 1998, a group of farmers in Maharashtra preferred the attack mode. Six years later, enhanced produce, global markets and hefty bank balances vindicate their decision to turn to contract onion farming.Though slow to catch on, the venture — a brainchild of Bhawarlal Jain, chairman of the Jalgaon-based Jain Irrigation Systems — today has 1,000 onion farmers as members in Nasik, Dhule and Jalgaon district s. Maharashtra is the largest producer of onions in the country.Prior to the launch of contract farming, Jain’s research and development facility tested almost 45 varieties of onions from different countries. The member-farmers grow white onions, which are a hit in the global market because of its very high, shelf life-improving TSS (total soluble solids) content.According to Kalyansing Patil, horticulture expert and an integral part of the venture, the fixed-rate buy-back guarantee is the main attraction for farmers taking up contract farming for the company. ‘‘We pay the member-farmers a fixed price of Rs 3/kg irrespective of market fluctuations. In fact, if the market price is higher, we pay them the market price,’’ said Patil.The onions bought by the company are dehydrated into various products such as medium and large chops, mince, big and powder granules, powder and kibs. All the products are then exported to Germany, France, USA, Australia and the UK.With the first venture of its kind in the country a hit, the company has planned a massive expansion. At present, it has three 250-MT dehydration units at Jalgaon, Dindori (Nasik) and Vadodara. Three more facilities will be added to the Jalgaon plant early next year, said Patil.Expansion will also mean getting more onion farmers into contract farming. The company provides high quality seeds, technical knowhow, micro-irrigation system, chemical and organic fertilisers to its member-cultivators, each of whom provide at least 30 MT/hectare per season (Maharashtra farmers prefer rabi and summer, though there are three seasons for the crop) to the company.Since the Indian market consumes fresh onions, particularly red, there is no market for dehydrated onion products. ‘‘Developed countries demand dehydrated onion products. The Indian product is very popular as it retains the flavour, texture and colour of the fresh produce,’’ said Patil.Incidentally, though India is one of the largest producers of onions in the world, consumption is below par. Out of the total world onion cultivation of 23.30 lakh hectares, India accounts for 4.80 lakh hectares. In the country, Maharashtra has 1.10 lakh hectares under cultivation and an average productivity of 12.40 tonnes of crop planning has led to an onion glut in Maharashtra almost every year. According to Patil, onion farmers in Maharashtra can only sell 50 per cent of their produce, the rest is destroyed during storage. A majority of the state’s farmers cultivate red onions which is not popular in the international market due to its limited shelf life. As contract farming calls for a high-tech cultivation process, it is much more expensive than the traditional process. The company has entered into a tie up with the State Bank of India and the Union Bank of India to provide term and crop loans at a minimum interest rate to these contract farmers.
