Onions make farmers cry too

And now that the ban has been lifted, the onion farmers are expected to be pacified. However, in the entire chain of action — the imposition of ban at the time of acute scarcity, and lifting it when glut threatens the market — what comes up front is the complete lack of policy framework to deal with such situation.

“I have not attended a single election meeting of any party and I don’t think I’ll castmy vote this time,” Tukaram says.

Ask about power politics and he would insist on talking about politics of onions. The market functions according to the whims of the traders, says he. Auctions were held last Saturday, but were suspended this Saturday for the reasons best known to traders.

Tukaram is small farmer with five acres from Katarni village near Niphad in Nashik Lok Sabha constituency. In his land which is divided between Bajra and onion crops, he could manage just a tractor-load of onions this season due to adverse climatic conditions. “Under normal circumstances, the onion yield would have been about 200 quintals,” he says, “but untimely rains and foggy weather has hit us’.

The Government’s cure for onion shortage has turned into farmers’ nightmare. The recent ban on export by the Government and fresh arrival of crop was threatening to take market from shortage to glut.

Tukaram feels the ban on onion exports was meant only for wooing urban voters at the cost of farmers. The ShivSena-BJP government shifts the blame to the Centre for imposing the ban, he says. “But what did the Sena BJP alliance do, when there was a glut in June last year and we were getting only Rs 100-150 per quintal,” he says.

Well, the Congress is no different. “It (Congress) had also banned exports when Sharad Pawar was the chief minister and the same party was in power at Delhi” he says. No party is concerned with the grassroot problems in the rural areas, Tukaram is convinced.

Tukaram is worried about loans he raised on promise of repayment after the sale of onions. The financial burden has mounted to Rs 50,000. And every day at the market waiting for the auction means extra rent for the hired tractor.

“When there is a glut and prices fall to Rs 100 per quintal (below the break-even level of Rs 250 per quintal), the Government does not compensate us,” he says. “And when there is a scarcity, it imposes a ban on exports to please urban people.” Government completely ignores the fact that though theprices are high on such occasions, the yield is so low that the farmer does not benefit and exports are negligible due to non-availability of good quality onions, he says.

Tukaram’s disdain is echoed by another farmer, Haushiram Bhima Pokale from Patoda village. Pokale has also been stranded at the onion market with his crop. “The farmers have no proper organisation or a saviour who can understand their problems,” he says, “the Setkari Sanghatana tried to, but failed.”

Pokale says that urban leaders cannot provide true leadership to farmers and rural politicians, who are usually rich farmers, have no concern for their poorer brethren. “Look at the cost; a 50-kilo bag of Urea costs Rs 185, a rise of Rs 30 in the past one month,” he says. Even as the cost of farming has gone up, the yield of onions has declined from 60 to 70 quintals per acre to a mere ten quintals per acre. He claims to have spent about Rs 15,000 on cultivating onions on a 1.5-acre plot.

“I am not going to vote under anycircumstances,” Pokale says firmly. “and who should I vote for?”“We know that our boycott on the polls would not change anything, but we would at least have the satisfaction of having registered a protest” he adds.