Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Unseasonal rain and strong winds on Saturday caused massive damage to onion crops across the Indore region, adding to farmers' ongoing woes. The rain, which followed a dust storm, soaked harvested and unharvested onions in the fields, leading to rotting and spoilage.
Farmers are currently engaged in harvesting, but evening rains over the past two weeks have made the process difficult and unproductive. On Saturday, the sudden storm drenched stored onions left in the fields, pushing them to the brink of ruin.
“This is the third time this season that rain has damaged our onion crops,” said farmer leader Bablu Jadhav. “Many farmers cannot recover even their input costs.” Fellow leaders Shailendra Patel and Chandan Singh Barwaya echoed similar concerns, warning of deepening financial distress in the farming community.
To make matters worse, mandi prices have crashed to Rs 5-8 per kilogram, far below the average production cost. Farmers say that selling onions at such prices leads to losses, not income.
The community has appealed to the government for immediate intervention, demanding compensation for losses, better price support, and effective crop insurance. “We are not seeking charity but justice,” said Patel. “We need timely relief or many of us will be forced out of farming.”
