Maharashtra Onion farmers: Agitated into price stabilisation scheme

Onion farmers in Maharashtra are agitated over the onion procurement process by Nafed and NCCF under the Central Government’s Price Stabilisation Scheme. They have demanded an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

This year, Nafed and NCCF are tasked with purchasing a total of five lakh tonnes of onions to create a buffer stock, with each organization responsible for two and a half lakh tonnes. However, the procurement, conducted through selected Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) and Federations in Maharashtra, has come under scrutiny.

“It has been observed that several Federations and FPCs are not actually purchasing onions directly from farmers. Instead, they are storing already cheap onions from the market in their warehouses. Additionally, some are buying onions at lower prices from specific traders and presenting these onions as part of the government’s buffer stock. This has resulted in a multi-crore financial scam,” said Bharat Dighole, President of the Maharashtra State Onion Producers Association.

Dighole further alleged that the FPCs and Federations involved in this fraud used bank passbooks, land records (7/12 extracts), and Aadhaar cards of their relatives and some farmers in this alleged scam. “This onion in warehouses is shown as being purchased for Nafed and NCCF. Many farmers have lodged complaints with the Onion Association regarding this scam,” said Dighole.

The Association has submitted a letter demanding a probe to a central committee currently visiting Nashik. The letter also suggested establishing a permanent policy on crucial issues such as onion seeds, onion production, onion marketing, onion export policy, and the onion processing industry to safeguard the interests of onion-producing farmers.