Upset over meagre valuation, Nashik farmer money orders entire proceeds to Modi

New Delhi: A farmer from Nashik district has claimed to have got the rate of Rs 150 per quintal for onions, prompting him to send the entire proceed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi via money order.

Sanjay Sathe, who hails from Niphad taluka in Nashik district, said his onions got valued at Rs 150 per quintal (100 kg) at the sub-agriculture produce market committee (APMC). For his produce of 7.5 quintals, Sathe got a meagre Rs 1,118.

The distressed farmer, upset over the valuation decided to send the entire proceeds to PM Modi through money order.

Nashik district is known for production of red onions. The onion market in Lasalgaon in district is Asias largest wholesale APMC for onions.

Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat are major onion producing states. Farmers have long been protesting against the low price of onions. However, the kitchen staple has gone through the roof several times in the past prompting the government to take several measures to discourage speculative and unscrupulous trade.

Consumer Affairs ministry in the past had also empowered states to impose stock limit on onion.

But, the auction price for farmers in APMCs, are so petty that they are sometimes the Minimum Support Price (MSP) fixed by the government also does not compensate their production cost.