When Shiv Sena Supremo Balasaheb Thackeray, while addressing an election meeting for the Niphad by-poll in Pimpalgaon-Baswant in Nashik district on February 5, asked onion growers to hit ministers with onions if they failed to pay attention to their plight, little did he realise that four months later two ministers of the Shiv Sena-BJP Government would receive a barrage of onions, from the Shetkari Sanghatana.

Thackeray had also promised to set up an onion dehydration plant in Nashik on the lines of the one set by the Jain brothers in Jalgaon. The Niphad electorate voted for the Shiv Sena nominee, Mandakini Kadam (wife of deceased Shiv Sena MLA Raosaheb Kadam). But when onion prices declined below the breakdown level of Rs 200 per quintal, farmers became restless.

Wholesale prices at various agriculture produce marketing committees (APMCs) began declining in April from Rs 300 per quintal. The truckers' strike from June 9 to 18 and fresh arrivals worsened the situation. When APMCs re-opened last week, the glut had forced the prices in the Rs 70-150 per quintal range. The Shetkari Sanghatana, eager to capitalise on the issue and consolidate its sagging support among farmers in the onion-growing belt began an agitation. It organised rasta roko at Ozar on the Mumbai-Agra national highway and on the Niphad-Lasalgaon road.

But the number of agitators was less than a dozen, as the farmers failed to turn up. When, however, some Sanghatana activists led by a local leader, Chandrakant Gurav, pelted onions at Social Welfare Minister Babanrao Gholap and Minister of State for Rural Development Tukaram Dighole at a public meeting at Yeola on June 22, it seemed to have the desired effect. The two ministers had visited Yeola to inaugurate the new building of Narayanrao Pawar Co-operative Credit Society and were returning after addressing the public meeting when they were hit by onions. Fifteen Sanghatana men were arrested. Another local leader of the Sanghatana, Trimbam Chevanke, went on a hunger strike at the Lesalgaon APMC from June 20 to 23, withdrawing the agitation after an assurance from the local Shiv Sena MLA, Kalyanrao Patil, of a meeting with Agriculture Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil.

Nashik is a major onion growing region, with about 24,000 hecatre under cultivation, producing over 4.5 lakh tonnes per annum in three yields. Maharashtra has about 59,000 hectare under onion cultivation, producing about 12 lakh tonnes per annum of the national yield of 34 lakh tonnes.

Unlike in onion growing regions in northern India, the crop is grown thrice every year in Maharashtra and some parts of Southern India, ensuring a steady supply round the year. The Kharif onion corp (`Pol' onion in local parlance), is planted between May and June and harvested between October and November; the late Kharif (`Rangda') crop is sown in August-September and harvested in January-February; and the Rabi crop (Gavthi) is sown in October-November and harvested in April-May. So, November to May is the peak supply season while July to October is the lean season.

Farmers, especially mariginal farmers in the drought-prone areas such as Yeola, Chandwad (Nashik district) grow onions as a major cash crop. The major attraction being its fast growth and substainability during the monsoon (kharif season). But any adverse fluctuation in climatic conditions (prolonged wet and dry spells, or cloudy weather) affects the kharif crop, pushing up prices of the late crop. A good monsoon harvest leads to a glut during the peak season, as farmers have no storage facilities. Onions have to be dried (to remove excess moisture) and cured either in fields in the sun for three to five days, or artificially at a temperature of 46C for at least 16 hours to extend its shelf life from one to three months. Absence of proper storage facilities leads to a loss of 35 to 40 per cent of the crop, according to an official estimate by the National Horticulture Research and Development Foundation.

Thackeray's assurance of a dehydration plant in Nashik, to cure onions for extending their shelf life would be a boon. The absence of storage facilities creates anxiety among farmers, who resort to panic-selling at lower rates to onion traders.

Failure of the crop due to adverse weather had boosted the prices to an unprecedented high of Rs 1,200-1,500 per quintal in November 1993 and a glut in October 1994 had prompted the Central Government to ban export of onions to control prices in the domestic market. Similarly, a glut during V.P. Singh's tenure as prime minister had pushed the price to Rs 40 per quintal and the State and the Central Government had shared the loss by paying Rs 100 per quintal to the farmers. The Shetkari Sanghatana and the Congress are now demanding the intervention of the governments, to pay Rs 380 per quintal to the onion growers.

According to Nathuji Nagre, the farmers' representative on the Lasalgon APMC, the withdrawal of subsidies on fertilisers, lack of storage facilities and a series of agitations at the APMCs have worsened the situation. On the other hand, Chandrakant Daga, traders' representative of the APMC, told The Indian Express that the policy of the railways to allow booking only of rakes (of 70 wagons each) for a particular destination had deterred traders from transporting onions to various parts of the country. He added that a bumper crop in other States, such as Gujarat and Rajasthan, had worsened the situation. A farmer from Vinchur village, Bansi Tukaji Jeughale, said that after waiting for four days in the queue for the auction, he sold his onions for Rs 90 per quintal because any further stay would have added to his overheads like the tractor rent and his food.

The major beneficiaries in the extreme fluctuation of prices have always been traders, who have adequate storage facilities. The traders have stopped booking rakes as the transportation of such a large quantity causes a glut at the destination, lowering the prices. Farmers, on the other hand have failed to learn from the previous gluts and shortages and have neither created storage facilities (individually or collectively) nor resorted to crop planning. Any fluctuation has its effect in Nashik as the Lesalgaon APMC is the biggest onion marketyard in the country, handling over 3.5 lakh tonnes.

Internationally, India, China, the US and Turkey are the major onion growers. China has the highest production of 3.93 million tonnes followed by India with 3.35 million tonnes. In productivity, Japan tops the list with 44.14 tonnes per hectare, followed by the US with 42 tonnes per hectare. India's productivity is 10.47 tonnes per hectare.

Of the national onion production of 34.2 lakh tonnes per annum, about 1 lakh tonnes each is exported to the Gulf and Bangladesh. Other countries importing onions from India include Sri Lanka, Singapore, Sychelles and Mauritius.

The present crisis of onions in Nashik has brought to the fore the necessity of crop planning and adequate storage facilities to extend the shelf-life of onions and control the fluctuations in prices, which hit only the farmers and the consumers and benefit traders and retailers.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.