Onion still makes Kurnool’s farmers cry

Though things are bright for onion farmers in Telangana, farmers from AP bringing their produce to Hyderabad do not get enough price

Hyderabad: The Telangana government’s market intervention has helped onion farmers in the State secure remunerative prices. But their counterparts in Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh are in distress with the onion price in the wholesale market dipping to Rs 2.20 to Rs 3 a kg.

According to officials of the Marketing Department here, farmers are in an advantageous position as the government has recently announced support price for onion. The Marketing Department officials are buying the onion at the doorstep of farmers in Telangana. The farmers are paid Rs 8 a kg.

But the onion being brought from Kurnool cannot claim the same price for their produce as they belong to another State.

Talking to The Hans India at the Malakpet Agriculture Market Yard, farmers from Kurnool said on an average the onion being brought to the market was securing price between Rs 2.20 and Rs 3 a kg. The farmers said they had invested Rs 50,000 on an acre for growing the crop and also spent money for transport and packaging, apart from incurring labour costs. “But, we are not even getting back investment,” said Pedda Veeranna of Anoni in Kurnool. He said the situation was so bad that the farmers were using the onion as cattle feed.

On Monday alone, 1,500 quintals of onions arrived from Kurnool. “In this market, the preferred varieties are arriving from Maharashtra and Karnataka, which sometimes are sold at Rs 5 to Rs 10 kg. It is all part of supply and demand economics, which cannot be denied,” said an official at Market Yard.

Md Nizamuddin