An empirical assessment of productivity, farm income and stakeholders’ perceptions of onion crop cultivation and its trade in Maharashtra

Although the diverse agro-climatic conditions enable India to produce onion in many parts round the year, most of the onion produced in the country still comes from the state of Maharashtra. Onion in Maharashtra is cultivated in both kharif and rabi seasons, and the production as well area under the crop has been steadily growing over time. However, the crucial questions that need to be answered revolve around not only the economics of onion cultivation but the productivity variations for different varieties of onion, and the stakeholder’s perceptions regarding production and marketing of this crop. Results show highly profitable nature of onion crop. Rabi onion, in particular, showed much higher returns. Farmers allocated 126.17% more area to rabi onion. Longer shelf life, better quality of produce, higher productivity and reasonably higher prices on offer were the major reasons for higher allocation. On the other hand, the variations in profit were seen on account of productivity differences, cost structure and prices received by the farmers for various varieties. Although onion crop cultivation was found to be lucrative proposition, the farmers were seen to confront with number of problems, which mainly revolved around high price fluctuations due to lack of rain, un-seasonal or excess rain, lack of remunerative price, lack of government support/procurement, etc. The other stakeholders encompassing wholesalers, retailers and exporters encountered with problems like poor quality of supply, competition from other traders, poor facilities of drier, poor road network, poor port facilities, export policy uncertainty, mixing of different varieties, problem of chemical residue, etc. Since rabi onion has much longer shelf life, it is felt that the government intervention and support is necessary for rabi onion, which will not only protect farmers but also consumers.