Onion supplies and prices have once again become a contentious issue. Unlike in the West, where the crop is harvested only once, India is better placed; farmers grow onion during kharif, late kharif and rabi seasons. The rabi season onion harvested in April and May has a shelf life of six or seven months if best practices are followed. So, the demand for nine months (April-December) can be met from one season. Kharif and late kharif onion can meet the remaining needs.

The issue is not one of crop cycles in India, but of crop planning. When a situation becomes awkward, the Centre often says that that agriculture is a State subject. But when three or four States produce 90 per cent of a crop, the Centre needs to ensure there is no shortage and prices remain stable for both farmers and consumers. Onion acreage should not be concentrated in two or three States.

Total acerage

Currently, Maharashtra alone has a share of over 40 per cent in total acreage while Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh share about 40 per cent together. Each State could contribute at least 80 per cent of its own consumption. Crop planning by the Centre would guard against low price realisation in a surplus year.

The Centre’s intervention is needed to build drying facilities with solar power at cluster level of 2-3 villages so that the moisture level in the crop can be brought to normal levels in the event of unseasonal rain. Cold storages are not economically viable.

With IMD’s expertise in short-duration forecast and the use of agri-tech start-ups as partners, the government can build a database to record sowing period at a micro level. This will help guide farmers to go for premature harvesting, depending on the growth stage of the onion varieties planted, if there is a risk of crop damage due to heavy rainfall.

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