Karnataka: Onion farmers struggling as heavy rains, price slump devastate crops
Dharwad: Onion is the latest among the kharif crops to be damaged due to extreme rainfall in North Karnataka. Continuous rains and fungal blight have wiped out over 50% of the crop in Kittur Karnataka region and parts of Vijayanagar and Ballari districts.
The situation has worsened as onions, particularly local varieties, are struggling to find buyers in APMC markets due to poor size and quality, as reported by Deccan Herald on Monday.
This quality deterioration has led to a sharp fall in prices. In Hubballi APMC, one of the biggest markets for onion, local onions are being sold at Rs 500 to Rs 1,350 per quintal, while onions from Pune are fetching Rs 800 to Rs 1,900 per quintal. Last year, local onions were priced between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000 per quintal during the same period.
Farmers in Mumbai-Karnataka region and parts of Vijayanagar and Ballari, who had already endured massive crop losses of green gram, black gram, and soya due to excessive rainfall, are now grappling with yet another setback. Onion crops have been severely impacted by the continuous rains.
Onions were grown on 6,300 hectares this year in Dharwad. Continuous rains and fungal blight wiped out more than half of the crop, while the rest suffered quality deterioration, dragging down prices.
The financial strain on farmers is evident, as many are unable to recover even their production costs. “I cultivated onions on 1.5 acres, spending Rs 70,000. The rains destroyed much of the crop and I harvested only 58 bags, selling them for Rs 25,000. I haven’t even recovered my sowing and labour costs,” DH quoted Siddalingappa, a farmer from Doni in Gadag’s Mundargi taluk, as saying.
The situation is similar across Vijayapura, Bagalkot and Gadag districts. In Gadag alone, onions were grown on 14,000 hectares, but 4,000 hectares of crops were lost to the rains. Bagalkot also reported significant damage on over 3,000 hectares, while Vijayanagar lost 108.59 hectares of onion crops.
Somappa, who has been cultivating onions for years, explained that he has cultivated 50–60 acres of onions, but repeated price crashes forced him to scale down. “This year, I grew on just two acres, spending Rs 70,000 on inputs. Harvest was due in 2 weeks, but prices have already fallen,” DH quoted the farmer as saying.
Many farmers, disheartened by the poor market conditions, have been forced to leave harvested onions to rot in the fields.
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Dakshina Kannada: Two girls drown while bathing near Kolyadakatta dam in Kadaba
Mangaluru: Two girl students drowned while bathing near the Kolyadakatta dam area of the Gundya river on Friday evening here in the Kadaba Taluk of the district.
The deceased have been identified as Arpita (15) and Sunita (21), both residents of Vimalagiri in Kutrupadi village.
According to reports, five girl students had visited the river along with their friends as it was a holiday. While bathing in the river, the two students reportedly entered a deeper portion of the water without realising the depth and began drowning.
Those accompanying them tried to rescue the duo, but were unsuccessful, leading to the tragedy.
After receiving information about the incident, Kadaba Police Station personnel visited the spot and conducted an inspection. The bodies were later recovered with the help of local residents.
