Falling prices leave onion farmers in tears

Mahbubnagar: What a matter of joy for many people in the cities, it is a matter of great distress for the farmers in Mahbubnagar district as the wholesale prices of onion have steeply fallen, causing heavy losses to them.

Particularly Devarkadra, Makthal, Narayanpet, Alampur, Gadwal, Mahbubnagar Jadcherla, Balanangar and other areas of erstwhile district of Mahbubnagar are known for good yield of onions.

This season, the production of onions increased many folds particularly in Devarkadra, Narayanpet and Mahbubnagar. Moreover, the onion production even in the adjoining districts of Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh has also been a big concerns for the local farmers as the dumps from adjoining State is coming into Telangana dropping the demand steeply. Due to this the prices of onions have also come down considerably.

For instance in Devarkadra market yard, about 226 quintals of onion had come for sale. However, the maximum rate per quintal was set at Rs 811, while the minimum rate is fixed at Rs 400 per quintal. With this steep fall in the prices of onions, the farmers who are growing onions are worried as they are not even able to recover their investments.

“For sowing one acre of field we are incurring Rs 30,000 to 50,000. However, this year, though the yield is good due to adequate water sources, but the prices have come down steeply. Even though we are producing about 25-30 quintals per acre, we are not even able to get back our investments. Therefore, we urge the government to provide MSP and save the onion farmers,” says Raghuveer, an onion farmer of Devarkadra.