Indian farmer earns Rs2 after travelling 70 km to sell 512 kg onions

An Indian farmer was demoralized after travelling 70 km to sell his harvest which earned him just Rs 2 in return for 512 kg onions.

Rajendra Tukaram Chavan – an onion farmer from India’s Maharashtra state –  told Indian media that he auctioned onions for Rs 1/kg at the Solar Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) and received payment as a post-dated cheque of Rs2.

“I got Rs 1 per kg for the onions. The APMC trader further deducted Rs 509.50 from the total amount of Rs 512 towards transportation charges, head-loading and weighing fees,” he explained.

Maharashtra farmer travels 70km to sell 512 kg onions, gets cheque for Rs 2

After all the deductions, his net profit was barely Rs 2.49 and he received the payment as a post-dated cheque for Rs 2, which he will be able to encash only after 15 days

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This time around, Chavan could make all but Rs2.49 despite a steep input cost of nearly Rs 40,000 — thanks to inflation making the acquisition of seeds, fertilisers, and pesticides twice as expensive as it was 3-4 years ago.

Nasir Khalifa, the trader who bought Chavan’s onions at the APMC, cited digitization as the reason for issuing a Rs 2 cheque to the farmer and defended the price offered.

“The onions brought for auction were of low quality,” the owner of Surya Traders told TOI.