With onion prices crashing sharply in the market, the Maharashtra State Onion Growers Association has announced a unique agitation — a ‘phone protest’ starting Friday, September 12. Farmers will continuously call the offices of the prime minister, chief minister, deputy chief ministers, agriculture minister and other officials to press for their demands. The decision comes amid severe losses faced by farmers, as production costs are not being recovered and prices have fallen drastically.
‘Can’t grow onions’
Ganesh Tryambak Sangle, 45, a farmer from Naigaon village in Sinnar taluka, Nashik, told mid-day, “The situation is so difficult that we are thinking of giving up onion farming. It is our ancestral occupation, but now we cannot carry it forward. Either natural calamities or government policies ensure we never get the right price.”
He explained that heavy rains this season damaged crops, seed costs have soared, and maintaining onion stocks is expensive. “After six months, the weight of stored onions reduces by 30 per cent. We have to use lights in winter and paper coverings in monsoon — all adding to costs,” he said.
Earlier, families planned weddings, children’s education, and other expenses around income from onion farming. “Now there is no such certainty. Political parties use us for votes and later forget our crises,” farmers said. Unable to travel to Mumbai for the agitation due to financial constraints, they decided on a phone protest. “At least our voice will be heard,” they said.
Association’s demands
Bharat Dighole, president of the association, said: “Onion growers are trapped in loans. They cannot even recover the investment made.” The association has circulated phone numbers of ministers’ personal assistants through WhatsApp groups and Facebook to intensify protest.
The farmers demand that immediate permission be granted for onion exports and export licences be issued to traders, as well as government procurement through the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) or other agencies at a MSP and a subsidy on onion exports to make them competitive abroad.
Lasalgaon in Nashik district, Asia’s largest onion market, is a key hub that influences onion prices across India and the continent. Currently, 2000 to 2500 truckloads of onions arrive there daily, but buyers are scarce. The glut has pushed prices to unsustainable lows. Over the last five months, despite good production, government export restrictions have left farmers in deep distress. “The US tariff crisis has not affected Nashik onions since we mainly export to West Asian countries,” Dighole clarified.
Shirish Chavan, a Nashik-based tech professional, criticised the government, saying, “They paint a dreamy picture of agriculture start-ups and investment schemes, but in reality, they can’t save farmers’ livelihoods. Lasalgaon has carved its name on the world map, yet farmers there are struggling for basic survival. Is this the real Make in India?” The Onion Growers’ Association has vowed to sustain the agitation until the government intervenes decisively.
