It has been three years since the onion growers in the State got decent returns on the vegetable. “The last three years, there was too much rain and the onions rotted away in the ground itself. This year, it is the opposite, and the plants are going dry in the heat,” said Mallikarjun, president, Rajya Raitha Sangha, Chitradurga. He said that these unpredictable weather patterns stopped many farmers from sowing onions this time.
He said that while there was a 50-60% decrease in Challakere, overall, 40% of farmers in Chitradurga decided to not grow onions this year.
He pointed out that the government’s latest decision to impose 40% duty on the exports of onions has also discouraged farmers.
“A day before the announcement of the excise duty, the price for a quintal of onions was between ₹2,600 - ₹3500. However, two days after that, the price fell to ₹1,800 - ₹2,600 per quintal. This might be the government’s way of regulating the price, but they are taking extra money now (as tax) from farmers who have already been burdened with heavy losses and loans,” Mallikarjun lamented.
The Union government, earlier this week, had announced that onions will be bought for a record price of ₹2,410 per quintal to pacify the farmers who were protesting about the levy of duty on exports. The farmers from Karnataka are also looking forward to this now.
