MP plans to incentivise kharif onion crop

Plans to cover at least 5,000 hectares with onion

To address the shortage of onions after the monsoon season, the Madhya Pradesh government is readying a plan to incentivise cultivation this kharif season. Every year, there is a shortage of onions during the monsoon and post-monsoon periods.

“This year, we plan to cover at least 5,000 hectares under the kharif onion crop. This will not only meet the shortage of onion, but also ensure better returns to farmers,” Anurag Srivastava, horticulture commissioner, Madhya Pradesh, told Business Standard.

The state is the second-largest producer of onions, after Maharashtra. Last year, Madhya Pradesh produced 2.8 million tonnes (mt), while Maharashtra produced 5.8 mt, according to National Horticulture Research and Development Foundation data. Gujarat produced 1.8 mt, while production in Karnataka stood at 1.6 mt.

Across the country, onion cultivation is spread across four seasons—early kharif, kharif, late kharif and rabi. Last year, a deficient monsoon and delay in crop arrivals had lead to onion prices touching Rs 100 a kg in retail markets. The India Meteorological Department has predicted this year, the El Niño weather phenomenon will hit the monsoon.

Madhya Pradesh also plans to create additional storage capacity for the onion crop. “The structure will be called ‘naturally ventilated storage’; it will provide enough storage space for onions, with a shelf life of six-seven months,” Srivastava said.

Capacity of 50 tonnes will involve an investment of Rs 3.4 lakh, while that for 25 tonnes will require Rs 1.75 lakh. “Madhya Pradesh has already abolished fruits and vegetables from the mandatory Agriculture Produce Market Act. Thus, farmers are allowed to sell their produce in the open market, without legal barriers,” Srivastava said.

In Madhya Pradesh, the onion crop is primarily grown in the Malwa, Sagar and Damoh regions. The area under cultivation is 111,000 hectares, while the yield is 24 tonnes a hectare.

In Madhya Pradesh’s Indore mandi, onion is being quoted at Rs 5-7 a kg, while in Maharashtra’s Lasangaon mandi, it is priced at about Rs 10 a kg.