Mumbai, Jun 1 (PTI) Onion farmers in Maharashtra have accused the government-appointed nodal agencies of delaying crop procurement, claiming that it caused huge losses after unseasonal rains hit the state in May.

The “failure” to buy onions on time under the Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) mechanism meant the produce that could have been stored and sold was instead left exposed to adverse weather, leading to spoilage and financial distress, they said.

Under the PSF, nodal agencies like the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF) are tasked with stabilising prices and protecting farmers’ interests by procuring onions and other notified commodities.

State government sources confirmed that the procurement process this year did not commence as scheduled, leaving farmers without institutional support.

“NAFED and NCCF were supposed to procure 10 per cent of the scheduled quantity in April and 45 per cent in May. Had they followed this timeline, about 1.65 lakh tonnes of onions would have been procured and safely stored,” said Bharat Dighole, president of the Maharashtra State Onion Producers' Association.

“Instead, the delay meant farmers had to keep onions in makeshift storage, many without proper facilities. The rains came, and the crop was lost,” he claimed.

According to preliminary estimates from the state revenue department, over 3,000 hectares of onion cultivation got damaged due to unseasonal showers between May 5 and 21. With an average productivity of 400 quintals per hectare, the loss might run into thousands of tonnes.

Farmers say the procurement agencies’ “inaction” forced them to gamble on short-term solutions. “We covered our onions with plastic sheets, thinking the showers would last a few days,” said Sanjay Sathe, a farmer from Niphad in Nashik district.

However, the rains didn’t stop, and the covered onions began to rot due to excessive moisture, he said. “Those who had taken their produce to the Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs) lost their entire stock as the onions had been kept in open areas,” said Sathe.

A lot of stock would have gone to warehouses had NAFED and NCCF begun procurement on time, and farmers would have at least recovered some money, he said. “But the delay ruined everything,” added the onion grower.

Heavy rains lashed several parts of the state in May this year, which also saw the early arrival of monsoon.

Farmers have also claimed that “malpractices” and inadequate infrastructure have marred Maharashtra’s onion procurement efforts.

In the current year, NAFED aimed to procure 1.5 lakh tonnes of onions from the state for buffer stock. In 2024-25, the agency had procured 1.75 lakh tonnes from Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh combined, while NCCF secured 2.5 lakh tonnes, against its target of 5 lakh tonnes, Doghole claimed.

Though onions arrive in the market both before and after the monsoon, only the pre-monsoon crop is procured by government agencies due to its low moisture content. The post-monsoon harvest, which has a high water content, is sold directly in the market.

NAFED last year had filed cases against six Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) in Maharashtra for allegedly creating fake procurement records, which appears to have slowed down procurement operations this year, said farmers.

“We have blacklisted six federations that failed to deliver onions as required,” a NAFED official had said in February this year.

Farmers and activists have claimed that the procurement process is opaque and often favours intermediaries. FPCs and traders often pose as genuine sellers and divert stocks to the open market at a profit, they said.

“The system needs to be more transparent. The government talks about helping farmers, but we see the same problems every year,” said Dighole.

The lack of scientific storage facilities is another major problem. A 2023 Agriculture Ministry report acknowledged the problem, noting that “the storage of onion is challenging as the majority of the stock is stored in open ventilated structures”.

According to farmers, a ban on onion exports and a 40 per cent duty, which lasted through 2023-24, continued to depress prices and production incentives into 2025. Though the export restrictions were lifted in April 2024, their impact lingers, they said.

“We were already struggling because of the export ban,” said Hari Gaikwad, a farmer from Pimpalgaon in Nashik district. “Now, the government fails to buy our produce in time. It's the farmer who suffers every time. We are the ones who got hit both times,” he said.

The system must be “fixed”, Dighole said.

“If procurement agencies cannot function as intended, they are failing the very people they are meant to serve,” he said. PTI ND NR