Nashik: Two farmers dump their onion produce as prices fell

Two distressed farmers in Satana town of Nashik district on Thursday dumped their onions on road to protest against a steep fall in the wholesale price of one of their key crops.

The two farmers, Ravindra Birari and Prashant Mahajan, took the extreme step after they were offered a meager amount of Rs 1.5 per kilogram for their onions, while the production cost of the crop was Rs 9 per kg.

"I have thrown my 17 quintal onion on road to mark my protest after the Agricultural Produce Market Committee offered me the rate of Rs 1.50 per kg for the onion," said Birari.

"How can we sell it at such a low price? It is affecting our financial situation. We cannot sustain ourselves by selling onions at this rate," said Mahajan, another farmer.

Only recently a distressed farmer from Maharashtra had sent Rs 1,064 he earned after selling 750 kg onions to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund (PMRF).

It is worth stating that the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 7 approved the Agriculture Export Policy-2018 with an aim to double farmers' income by 2022.