Exactly five years after a police firing claimed the lives of six garlic farmers in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandsaur who were protesting demanding minimum support price for their produce, farmers in the districts bordering Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are up in arms against the State and Union governments for price as low as ₹2 for a kilogram of garlic.
They are from areas such as Kota, Ratlam, Mandsaur, Jhalawar, Baran, Neemuch and Ujjain, known as the “garlic belt” of the country. The area contributes almost 50% of the country’s total garlic production. The farmers are demanding the Centre and the States to immediately announce a market intervention scheme and start procuring garlic to help them. They have also decided to launch joint agitations under the banner of Samyukt Kisan Morcha.
What has added to their worry is that purchase by food processing industries have come down as their products such as garlic powder, garlic paste and garlic sauce have not moved much in the last two years due to low demand and consumption.
