The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED) will start procurement of Kharif onion from Gujarat farmers to address the issue of falling prices in the state.
The commencement of procurement of the staple vegetable is expected to provide stability in prices.
"Taking stock of the situation due to depressed prices of Onion in late Kharif season in the State, the Department of Consumer Affairs has directed NAFED to start procurement of Onion from three major markets in Gujarat. NAFED will start procurement of onion from 09.03.23 in Bhavnagar (Mahua), Gondal and Porbandar," the food ministry said in a release.
Farmers are requested to bring their good quality and dried stock to the procurement centres to avail of the better rate at these centres.
"Payments to the farmers will be done online. More centres will be opened from time to time as required," the release said.
Onion is sown in all the states, however, Maharashtra is the leading producer with a share of around 43 per cent, Madhya Pradesh 16 per cent, and Karnataka and Gujarat contribute around 9 per cent of national production. It is harvested thrice a year, with cropping seasons reported during Kharif, late Kharif and Rabi.
There were reports that the staple vegetable was fetching as low as Rs 1-2 per kg in Maharashtra's Lasalgaon mandi -- India's largest onion market.
The harvest of rabi is most important as it contributes nearly 72 -75 per cent of national production and is harvested from March to May months. The shelf life of the Rabi harvest is highest and stored worthy whereas the Kharif and late Kharif crop is for direct consumption and not store-worthy.
Last year, NAFED purchased 2.51 lakh tonnes of Rabi onion as buffer stock. This season too, it decided to keep 2.5 lakh tonnes as buffer stock.
( With inputs from ANI )
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