The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) will begin the procurement of Kharif onions from three markets in Gujarat as the prices in the wholesale markets have tremendously fallen. This official information was disseminated by the Food and Consumer Affairs Ministry.
NAFED is set to commence the procurement process from Mandis (markets) in Bhavnagar, Gondal, and Porbandar, from March 9th onwards. According to the cooperative, more centers will be opened as required. Farmers have been requested by the Food and Consumer Affairs Ministry to bring good quality and dried stocks to the procurement centers that have been set up, as they will be able to avail better rates for their produce. The Ministry also added that the farmers will be paid via the online medium.
Onion is grown in all states across India; however, Maharashtra is currently the leading producer of onion with a share of 43%. Madhya Pradesh follows shortly after, with 16%, and Karnataka and Gujarat with 9% of the national production. Onions are harvested thrice a year during the Kharif, late Kharif, and Rabi seasons.
The procurement of Kharif onions has been planned by the Central Government to provide immediate relief for farmers in the state as the price of onions has suffered a massive hit. Therefore, to address the matter of the falling prices of onions, this move will provide stability to the markets in Gujarat.
Similarly, there has been a steady decline in the prices of potatoes as well, along with the woes of onions. The Agricultural Produce and Livestock Market Committee (APMC), after deliberations with several Gujarat-based MLAs, have proposed a 330 crore package to be provided to both onion and potato cultivators. This package will also help them with transportation and storage of their produce.
The Minister of Agriculture, Raghavji Patel, has said that Gujarat is likely to produce around 19.28 lakh metric tons of onions from which 7 lakh tons of red onions are yet to arrive in the markets during the Rabi season.
One of Gujarat’s largest and most popular Marketing Yards, the Saurashtra Marketing Yard, will receive 3.5 lakh tons of produce, and the government will provide them with 70 crores in relief, along with the aid from APMC. Through this, farmers could make up to 50,000 rupees if they sell onions in APMC. Farmers will also be provided with 20 crores for transportation of their produce to other states.
Furthermore, the government, in a bid to continue making things easy for farmers, will be providing financial aid of 240 crores to potato cultivators who were severely affected by the fall in prices due to high production of it.
