Facing losses, farmers demand MSP for onions

Nashik: Farmers have demanded a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for onions and introduction of market intervention schemes to provide relief from the declining wholesale price of the produce.While the cost of onion production is around Rs 1,800 per quintal, the average wholesale price has dropped to between Rs850 and Rs900 per quintal in the district APMCs. This is causing heavy financial losses to farmers, prompting them to stage protests, demanding immediate relief measures.On Monday, onion farmers staged an agitation at the Yeola APMC and at the office of the sub-divisional officer in Yeola tehsil under the leadership of Prahar Sanghatana president Bachchu Kadu, demanding an MSP of Rs3,000 per quintal and the introduction of a market intervention scheme.Farmers said they are getting low rates and are not even able to recover the production cost. "We want state govt to provide an MSP of Rs 3,000 per quintal. We also want a grant of at least Rs 1,500 per quintal to those farmers who sold their produce at lower rates during the last six months," the farmers said. Meanwhile, the average wholesale price of late kharif onions at Pimpalgaon APMC was recorded at Rs825 per quintal on Tuesday. The minimum and maximum prices were Rs600 and Rs1,040 per quintal, respectively.