NAFED hopeful of meeting onion procurement target even as farmers demand better rates

The Government’s procurement agency NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India) has been unable to procure even 10 per cent of the five lakh tonnes onion procurement target for the buffer stock aimed at price stabilisation. However, it hopes to meet the goal by offering competitive prices to farmers.

As the Rabi-2024 onion harvest began arriving in the market, the Government instructed the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation (NCCF) and the NAFED to procure five lakh tonnes of onions directly from farmers to meet the buffer stock requirement.

Rabi onions are crucial for the country’s onion supply, contributing 72-75 per cent of the annual production. Additionally, their superior shelf life compared to kharif onions ensures year-round availability, allowing them to be stored and supplied until November-December.

“It’s a fact that the procurement agencies have not been able to achieve even ten per cent of the total target. The rate offered by the Government to onion has remained less compared to the market price. Farmers preferred to sell their produce in the market, so procurement agencies couldn’t procure much in the last few months,” Keda Tanaji Aher, member of NAFED, told businessline.

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He said, “The government now offers a competitive rate starting at ₹2,555 per quintal. Farmers would bring their produce to procurement agencies and we are confident that the target of five lakh tonne will be achieved without any problem”   

Farmer’s stand

However, Bharat Dighole, President of the Maharashtra State Onion Growers’ Association, was skeptical of farmers’ willingness to engage with procurement agencies. “Today, the modal (rates at which most trades take place) price of onions in Lasalgaon is ₹2,700 per quintal. Why would farmers sell to procurement agencies at a lower price?” he wondered

Dighole emphasised that the government needs to offer significantly better rates than the market. “The price stabilisation fund is designed to benefit consumers, but farmers continue to suffer. The government should not compete with the market; instead, it must offer the highest possible rate to farmers, regardless of market fluctuations,” he said.

Government steps

To achieve the procurement target for onion buffer out of rabi 2024 under the Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) NCCF and NAFED are collaborating with local agencies sich as FPOs, FPCs, and PACs to facilitate the procurement, storage, and registration of farmers for the procurement of storable onions.

Earlier a high-level team comprising officials from the Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA), NCCF, and NAFED visited Nashik and Ahmednagar districts of Maharashtra from to raise awareness among farmers and local organisations about the procurement of five lakh tonnes of onions.  

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To minimize storage losses, the Department of Consumer Affairs has decided to increase the quantity of onions to be irradiated and cold-stored from 1,200 tonnes last year to over 5,000 tonnes this year, with technical assistance from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai.

The pilot project on onion irradiation and cold storage initiated last year has successfully reduced storage losses to less than 10 per cent.