Onion growers in Maharashtra, who were seeking pending dues of the grant given by the state government after prices had crashed in the previous season, are likely to get relief soon. The government of Maharashtra approved a grant of Rs 3.87 billion (€49 million) for onion farmers in the state for the crop sold last year during the period when there was a sharp fall in prices.
Farmers last year had stored some 1.1 million tons of onion, of which 700,000 tons had remained unsold. The lack of demand from other states had led to a fall in prices resulting in losses to farmers. The government had then approved a grant of Rs 200 per 100 kgs (€2.50) to onion growers in Maharashtra in December 2018 for the period November 1 - December 15.
The state government had extended the above subsidy for onion farmers who had suffered financial distress due to fall in prices. Farmers who had sold their crop between November 1 and December 15 were eligible for the subsidy. The subsidy was later extended until April 15
In the first phase from November, 71,437 onion growers were considered eligible for the grant. The government had allocated Rs 541.4 million. Of this, Rs 537.3 million has been disbursed into farmer bank accounts. Significantly, a large quantity of onion was sold in the second phase of February and the government had therefore extended the deadline to March 31 for the subsidy.
Jaydutt Holkar, chairman, Lasalgaon Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC), who had approached the government on several occasions to seek immediate relief for farmers, pointed out that of the 17 APMCs in Nashik district, 191,111 farmers were still to get the benefit. In Lasalgaon alone, some 30,594 farmers are yet to receive the grant. Around 192,000 onion farmers in the Nashik district of Maharashtra are likely to get a grant worth Rs 2 billion from the state government by August end. The state government issued a government resolution (GR) in this connection on Wednesday.
