Rohit Pawar sets one-week deadline for govt to address onion farmers’ issues, warns of agitation

Nashik: NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar on Monday strongly criticised both Centre and state govt, accusing them of neglecting onion growers amid a crash in wholesale prices. He warned that farmers would launch a rasta roko protest on the Mumbai-Agra National Highway at Chandwad in Nashik district on May 26 if immediate relief measures were not announced.

Speaking during a visit to Lasalgaon APMC, the country’s largest wholesale onion market, Pawar demanded that Centre procure onions at Rs 2,400 per quintal (Rs 24 per kg), significantly higher than the recently announced rate of Rs 1,235 per quintal (Rs 12.35 per kg). He gave state govt a one-week deadline to address the crisis.

Highlighting the severity of the situation, Pawar said farmers were currently receiving only Rs 300-500 per quintal, far below the estimated production cost of Rs 1,800-2,000 per quintal. “Input costs have risen by nearly 25%, and current prices do not even cover basic expenses,” he said, while criticising the reduced procurement price, pointing out that in 2023, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, onions were procured through Nafed at Rs 2,400 per quintal. “Despite higher costs now, the procurement rate has been sharply cut,” he said.

According to Pawar, Maharashtra’s summer onion output is estimated at around 70 lakh tonnes, while Centre plans to procure only 2 lakh tonnes. He reiterated that procurement should be increased to at least 5 lakh tonnes at Rs 2,400 per quintal to provide relief to the farmers. “Many farmers have already sold produce at unviable rates, suffering heavy losses. To compensate them, state govt should provide Rs 1,500-2,000 per quintal to those who sold below cost,” he said.

Pawar further demanded that Nafed procure onions directly from farmers via APMC auctions and prioritise exports rather than releasing stocks in domestic markets, which he said would further depress prices.

As part of the agitation, Pawar led a tractor march and staged a sit-in protest at Lasalgaon APMC. The protest was attended by MPs Nilesh Lanke and Bhaskar Bhagare, former MLA Sunil Bhusara, and several leaders and workers from parties, including Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress. A large number of onion farmers from across the district also participated.