Onion prices crash, upset farmers graze sheep

Vijayanagara

A farmer, fed up with the fall in onion prices, has destroyed his three-acre field, which is in the harvesting stage, by grazing sheep. Moolimani Sharanappa, a farmer from Utthangi in Hadagali taluk, is the farmer who destroyed it by grazing sheep.

The price of onions in the Bangalore market is only Rs 1,000 to Rs 800 per quintal. It costs Rs 300 to Rs 400 per 50 kg bag to pick, grade and transport the onions to the market.

The money for harvesting, labour and transportation costs will not be recovered, says farmer Moolimani Sharanappa, who has destroyed the crop by grazing sheep.

 I spent about Rs 1.20 lakh to grow onion crops on three acres. Since the market price has fallen, the money from the sale is not enough to cover the harvesting expenses.

I did this knowing that it would be better to destroy it instead. I had planted onion crops about four months ago expecting good returns. The government has not taken any notice of the fall in onion prices. Everyone knows the situation of farmers,  said farmer Sharanappa, expressing his frustration.