Outrage as Solapur farmer can earn only Rs13 in profit after sale of 1,123 kg onions

A farmer from Solapur could earn only a paltry sum of Rs13 from a sale of over 1,123 kgs of onions. The farmer community is outraged, and they blamed both the state and central governments for the ordeal of farmers

Solapur: Farmers from Solapur are in a big disappointment as one among them could earn only a paltry sum of Rs13 after selling a whopping 1,123 kgs of onions.

Bapu Kavde sold his produce of onions to Rudresh Patil, a trader at the Solapur Agricultural Produce Market Committee, on December 1. But after paying for processing, labour and transport charges, he was left with only 13 rs. in his hand.

The receipt of his payments went viral, and Raju Shetty, the leader of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, took notice of the incident. He expressed concerns over the matter saying that it is quite worrisome that the hard-working farmers of the nation are earning such meagre profits even for such huge selling. He blamed both the state and central governments for the ordeal of the farmers, adding they are making things difficult for the farmers of the country.

He said that whenever onions fetch good prices, the government bans exports. In many cases, the government has also allowed sale of onions at lower prices through external outlets. "They are so business-minded that they deliberately put farmers into such situations for profits. But if it goes on for too long the same way, the farmers wont stay quiet," he said.