“I spent round Rs 66,000 on my onion crop,” Ingle informed The Occasions of India's Ardhra Nair, standing by his rain-soaked discipline. “I'll run a rotor by the remaining onions and switch them into fertiliser. That's extra worthwhile than promoting.”
Throughout Maharashtra, tales like Ingle's have grow to be all too frequent. Relentless rains have wrecked crops — from onions, tomatoes, and potatoes to pomegranates and soyabean — whereas collapsing costs have left farmers with little to indicate for his or her toil. The cascading impact has reached rural markets, which often thrive throughout the festive season.
“This yr, Diwali is being celebrated solely in cities. In villages, there's no cash even to purchase a diya,” an Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) member from Nashik informed the newspaper.
Onions Rot, Markets Stagnate
At Lasalgaon APMC, Asia's largest onion market, costs have been caught between Rs 500 and Rs 1,400 per quintal, averaging round Rs 1,050 (Rs 10.50 per kg). A bumper summer time crop in March-April, mixed with broken new harvests, has created a glut of poor-quality onions.
“About 80% of the onion crop in Nashik was broken by rain,” mentioned an APMC official. “Farmers who saved their produce hoping for increased costs are actually promoting at misery charges. The salvaged onions are of low high quality and fetching poor returns.”Ingle's calculations inform the story starkly. He bought 393 kg of onions at Rs 3 per kg, 202 kg at Rs 2, and 146 kg at Rs 10, incomes Rs 1,729 earlier than bills. After paying Rs 1,065 for transport, loading and weighing, his internet earnings have been simply Rs 664. “Being a farmer means a lifetime of struggles,” he mentioned.
‘Higher to Destroy Than Promote'
For a lot of, the losses lengthen past onions. Manikrao Zende, one other Purandar farmer, noticed his investments in pomegranates and custard apples washed away. “I spent Rs 1.5 lakh on my pomegranate farm, however the crops turned black on account of nonstop rains,” he mentioned. “I needed to discard them. My custard apple saplings, value Rs 1 lakh, bought for barely half that.”
Confronted with such losses, Zende determined to destroy his onion crop altogether. “Promoting would solely deepen my losses. A minimum of if I plough it again, it turns into fertiliser,” he mentioned.
Zende additionally drew a hyperlink between rural misery and rising crime. “When farmer households haven't any cash, their kids are left idle. Some migrate to cities, however many keep again with no jobs and no hope. It's no shock some drift into crime. The day farmers get truthful costs, crime will fall.”
Imported Inventory, Fading Hopes
At Pimpalgaon Baswant APMC, tomatoes are promoting for round Rs 1,100 per 20 kg crate. However many farmers are dropping religion available in the market. Manik Gore, a farmer and commissioning agent at Chakan APMC, mentioned he sowed soyabean this yr on one acre — a uncommon transfer for him. The rains wiped it out.
“My enter value was Rs 20,000, utterly gone,” he mentioned. “Even the onions coming in are spoiled. Out of fifty kg, barely 10 kg sells at an honest fee; the remainder go for Rs 2–Rs 3 per kg.”
To make issues worse, produce from different states — significantly onions and potatoes from Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat — is flooding Maharashtra's markets. “Good-quality potatoes are promoting at Rs 10–Rs 15 per kg,” Gore mentioned. “However the price of cultivation per acre is round Rs 40,000. No matter we're getting now could be nothing.”
Misplaced Markets
Gore blames authorities coverage for deepening the disaster. “Final yr, when onion costs rose, the federal government banned exports,” he mentioned. “We misplaced our worldwide purchasers to different nations. When the ban was lastly lifted, the markets have been gone. If the federal government can ban exports when costs rise, ought to it not purchase onions at good costs once they crash?”
This, he mentioned, displays a sample of neglect. “Farmers carry all the chance however get not one of the reward. Farming has grow to be a lifetime of struggling.”
Soyabean, Toor and Chana: The Bleak Outlook
The ache isn't restricted to greens. In Latur, certainly one of India's largest soyabean markets, round half the crop has been broken. “Good-quality soyabean is promoting for Rs 4,100–Rs 4,250 per quintal, however rain-hit inventory fetches solely Rs 2,000–Rs 3,000,” mentioned dealer Ramesh Suryavanshi. “That doesn't even cowl half the enter value.”
Even those that saved their produce from earlier seasons hoping for higher costs are being compelled to promote low-cost. “Soyabean costs haven't improved in two years. The charges for chana and toor dal are additionally weak,” Suryavanshi mentioned. “Good-quality chana sells at Rs 5,400–Rs 5,500, whereas broken inventory goes for Rs 3,000. Toor dal fetches a most of Rs 6,800.”
For farmers, this implies no surplus to spend throughout the festive season — and for the agricultural financial system, no revival in sight. “Farmers have misplaced their buying energy,” Suryavanshi mentioned. “Even Diwali companies are struggling. The general temper is bleak.”
