Onion farmers shed tears over glut

The problem is, where and whom to sell the crop to. With prices having largely stabilised, there are few takers for the crop in such bulk. Also, government restrictions on the export of onions has closed down their options.

“The government allows only 75,000 tonnes onions to be exported in a span of three months. But when there is a stock of 80 lakh tonnes where will all the onions go?” asks Bhoopatbhai Mandavia in despair. He has grown onions on a four-acre plot but has not been able attract even one buyer.

“We are not in a position to even take our produce to marketing yards in Ahmedabad or Vadodara because the transportation cost is proving to be more than what a truck load of onions will fetch,” says Babubhai Jivani, leader of the farmers’ union here. “Nobody is willing to buy a bag of 20 kg onions at Rs 60, which is the rate farmers are expecting to break even. Anything less than this means the farmers are at a loss,” he told Express Newsline.

At present, the farmers are exporting trainloads of onions to Assam where the demand hasn’t yet died down. “However, with the cost of transportation outweighing the expected income, few farmers are inclined to book trains. Besides, the chances of onions getting spoiled in transit are increase, which will add to the losses”, says Jivani.

Kantibhai Vegda has waited one week to sell his crop; at present, it’s spread right across a field the size of a football ground. With each passing day his hopes sink as the onions begin to rot; still, there are no buyers.

One farmer said he and his brethren would eventually be forced to use rotten onions as manure.

The crisis has already taken its toll on the farmers in financial terms. Some have taken large loans, others have sold their shops and showrooms and invested lakhs in the fields. And, ironically, the falling price of onions has not depressed the price of seeds: It’s soared from Rs 3,000 to rs 15,000 per 20 kgs.

Jayantibhai Faldu, president of the Bhayavadar Chamber of Commerce, reckons each farmer in Bhayavadar risks losing Rs 1 lakh to 4 lakhs if the glut does not ease and the entire crop starts rotting.

“Most of us have taken loans from the khedut mandali’ and invested all the money in buying seeds. I would prefer to die before seeing my crop rot like this,” says Suresh Javia who has onions on 16 acres waiting in vain.

However, there is an upside to this: “Bhayavadar farmers have large fields and can grow other crops quickly, otherwise there would be suicides as there were in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh,” says Amubhai, an onion trader.

And, to complete the cycle of irony, several farmers that Express Newsline spoke to said they would avoid growing onions next season if they went bankrupt this season. That is likely to precipitate a crisis, with prices likely to rise.

Angry, frustrated, and almost paralysed with fear, the farmers criticise the government’s inaction. “NAFED or GROFED should be asked to intervene and buy the crop from us because private agencies and merchants are not interested”, says Babubhai Jeevani. “We are ready to give onions at Rs 4 or 5 per kg to the state government if it buys directly. And even if they lift the restrictions, prices are not going to rise because with such a bountiful crop we will ensure that there is enough supply,” he said.

The administration’s response is a shrug of the shoulders. Agriculture Minister Nitin Patel says: “The overproduction of onions this seasons was expected; the crisis is of their own making. The farmers will grow only that crop which has brought good prices the season before; the state government cannot stop them from doing so. We have no intention of buying the crop directly as the farmers desire; no government has directly purchased any crop from farmers”.

For now, the fields are deserted and silent, save for the rustle of dry onion skins blowing with the breeze while desperate faces search for buyers. Already, some have started selling jewellery and other assets to clear loans. Others don’t know what to do and are on the verge of breaking down.

But then, onions do cause tears, don’t they?