Nashik district accounts for nearly half of onion production in the country. (Representational)
A farmer from Nashik in Maharashtra has sent a money order of Rs 216 to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis as a mark of protest after he received the same amount for 545 kg of onions.
Farmer Chandrakant Bhikan Deshmukh sold the produce at the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) at Yeola in an auction on December 5 and received 51 paise per kg of onions.
I was paid Rs 216 in total after APMC's charges were deducted, he said, showing the sale receipt.
"There is a drought-like situation in my area. How am I supposed to run my house and repay my loans with these paltry earnings?" the farmer said.
"I did not get good price though my onions were of good quality. So I sent Rs 216 to Maharashtra chief minister in protest," he added.
Nashik district accounts for nearly half of onion production in the country.
Meanwhile, NCP president Sharad Pawar today hit out at Maharashtra Chief Minister over low onion prices in Nashik, accusing him and his government of not being concerned about farmers' "loot".
Those talking about adopting Nashik are not concerned about local farmers' woes, he said.
Recently, an onion-grower from Nashik who had to sell his produce for little over Re 1 per kg and fetched only Rs. 1,064 for 750 kg of the vegetable, sent his earnings to prime minister Narendra Modi last month as a mark of protest.
In another incident, a farmer from Ahmednagar destroyed the entire plantation of brinjal on his land as a form of protest after being offered a meagre 20 paise per kilogram for the crop.