A farmer in south-western Maharashtra received a post-dated cheque of ₹2 after travelling 70km to sell ten sacks of onions, reported news agency ANI.
Rajendra Tukaram Chavan, a farmer of Borgaon village of Barshi taluka in Solapur, travelled 70km to the Solapur Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) to auction his winter onion harvest for ₹1/kg and received the payment as a post-dated cheque of ₹2 which he can encash only after 15 days.
Chavan earned ₹512 from the sale of his entire crop but the APMC trader deducted ₹509.50 as transportation charges and other costs. Subsequently, he earned only ₹2.49.
“The price of seeds, fertilisers and pesticides has doubled in the past three-four years. I spent almost ₹40,000 to grow about 500kg of onions this time”, Chavan said.
Anna Rajendra Chavan, the son of the farmer, said, “I had grown onions on 2 acres of land and went to Solapur mandi to sell ten sacks. After weighing, I was given a cheque for ₹2. I had taken a loan. How will I pay it back?”
The farmer added that his crop last year fetched ₹20/kg. However, a bumper harvest in this Kharif season slashed the prices of the produce.
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According to experts, farmers do not get more than 25% high-quality produce. Around 30% of the produce is of medium quality and the remaining is of low quality. Wholesale onion prices at the country’s largest onion mandi, Nashik’s Lasalgaon APMC, dropped around 70% in the past two months, the report added.
The report further added that the number of onions coming into Lasalgaon mandi has doubled from 15,000 quintals per day in December to 30,000 quintals now. The average wholesale price dropped from ₹1,850/quintal in December to ₹550 in February this year.
Nasir Khalifa, the trader who bought Chavan’s onions said Chavan was issued the cheque because of digitisation. “We have computerised the process of issuing receipts and cheques. As a result, Chavan’s cheque was post-dated. This is a common practice regardless of the amount on the cheque,” he said.
While defending the price offered, Khalifa said, “Earlier, Chavan had brought high-quality onions that were sold at ₹18 per kg. He later brought another batch, which fetched him ₹14 per kg. Low-quality onions are usually not in demand”, the report added.
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