Tirupur district farmers shocked as shallot seedlings grow into onions

Belying their belief, they got a yield of  not small onions rather big onions shattering all their hopes. Therefore, the farmers have ended up with huge losses running up to several  lakh  as  big  onions  don’t  fetch  remunerative prices in the market. A  large  number  of  farmers  in  several villages in and around Palladam areas  raise  small  onions.

They  have  sowed  the  small  onion  seedling  procured  from  a  private  seed  firm  at  Kallipalayam near Pongalur. “It  was  only  after  harvest  that  we  came  to  know  that  the  yield  was  big  onions, which doesn’t fetch remunerative prices in the market. The yield was also low as we got a yield of only four  to  five  tonnes  of  big  onions  per  acre  as  against  the  usual  seven  to  10  tonnes in small onions,” said Saran, a farmer from Kullampalayam.

Another   farmer   rued   that   they   spent  up  to  Rs  1.5  lakh  per  acre  and  labored up to five months in the field. “All our energy and money have gone waste due to fake onion seedlings. So far,  around  57  farmers  were  identified  to  have  bought  the  onion  seedling from the firm and met with a loss due to a different yield. Action should be initiated against the firm for causing loss to the farmers,” said Sakthivel, another farmer.

After the farmers took up the issue with  MLA  MSM  Anandan,  farmers  associations and officials of the agriculture  departments,  the  seed  firm  has  assured  them  to  compensate  for  the loss.Deputy  Director  for  Seed  Inspection  S  Venkatachalam  said  that  the  seed firm has come forward to pay Rs 30,000  per  acre  for  the  loss  incurred  by  the  farmers.  “Further  action  will  be taken after an inquiry,” he added.