Maharashtra Minister Addresses Onion Farmers' Payment Delays and Protests
Mumbai, Maharashtra Minister Jaykumar Rawal on Friday acknowledged the payment delays that led to protests by onion farmers in Nashik earlier this year. He assured that the process to clear pending dues for onion procurement is currently underway.
In a written reply at the legislative assembly, Rawal stated that the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India (NCCF) carried out substantial onion procurement between June and August last year. Farmers staged a protest outside the NAFED office in Nashik on January 5, with pending dues of around ₹20 crore relating to the NCCF being outstanding at the time.
The minister highlighted that payments are currently being disbursed at the agency level. Under the Centre's Price Stabilisation Fund scheme, most farmers were paid within the stipulated period, although some disbursements were delayed due to administrative reasons.
Rawal also noted that excess rainfall during the Kharif and late Kharif seasons affected onion cultivation and production in the state. Farmers faced significant losses due to export restrictions, pest attacks, rising input costs, and low market prices.
The minister informed that farmer outfits had launched protests from September 18, 2025, in Daund taluka of Pune district, demanding a remunerative price of ₹35 per kg for onions. Addressing export issues, he mentioned that the state government had urged the Centre to remove the 20 per cent export duty on onions. After sustained follow-up, the Union government scrapped the duty through a notification dated March 22, 2025.
Furthermore, Rawal stated that the state government had written to the Centre seeking an increase in export incentives under the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme from 1.9 per cent to 4 per cent to support onion exporters and stabilize prices.
The minister’s assurances aim to address the concerns of onion farmers and ensure timely payments, thereby mitigating the impact of recent challenges on the agricultural community in Maharashtra.
