Reservoir levels in the state are currently 20% lower than they were last year at this time with the rain having been patchy. Rabi season onion sowing is set to drop in Maharashtra due to the shortage of water. The production of tur and sugar is already set to drop while wheat and chana sowing also signal lower output.
Onion prices already high
“It is for the first time in the last six-seven years that I had to return nearly 50% of the onion seeds of most brands to the companies,” said Mukhesh Jaybhaye, a seeds dealer in Nimon, Sangamner. “Lack of enough water has forced farmers to reduce the area planted under onions.”
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), while overall rain in Maharashtra during the monsoon was normal, it was deficient in many regions such Marathwada, Madhya Maharashtra and North Maharashtra.
Rain in the rabi season from October 1 to November 15 has also been in the “large deficit” category.
Lower onion sowing can hit supplies next year. Onion prices are already running high, lifting retail inflation in the kitchen staple to over 42% in October. The consumer food price index was up 6.6% in the month from a year earlier.
“The farmers who used to plant onions on five acres, have reduced the area to just about two acres due to the shortage of water,” said Rahul Jadhav, proprietor of Rahi Natural Seeds in Satara.
Some of the farmers, who had sown onion nurseries expecting rain during the Diwali period, are seeking buyers for the saplings.
“We are trying to connect the farmers who want to sell their onion saplings due to lack of water with those who could have water and want to plant onions,” said Bharat Dighole, president, Maharashtra Onion Growers’ Association.
It takes 45-55 days to grow the nurseries from onion seeds, after which the seedlings are transplanted.
Unlike kharif onion, which grows in 90 days, rabi onion takes 120 days to mature. Many areas won’t be able to provide the irrigation needed during this four-month growth phase.
After tur, production of which is expected to decrease due to the deficit monsoon rainfall in Maharashtra and Karnataka, chana is also expected to get hit.
“The area sown under chana is likely to fall by 10-15%,” said Nitin Kalantry, a processor of chana and tur in Maharashtra. “The initial figures are looking higher because farmers have done early sowing to cash in on the available soil moisture in the fields immediately after the harvesting of soya bean.”
Prices of jowar have hit a historic high, touching Rs 85 per kg in wholesale trade.
“Jowar is the staple food of the farming community in Maharashtra and north Karnataka and there is no alternative to it. (But) even the urban people now want to eat jowar instead of wheat,” said Rajgopal Biyani, 67, a wholesale trader of jowar in Latur.
Although Maharashtra’s share in the total wheat production of the country is insignificant, produce from north Maharashtra and Vidarbha satisfy the requirement for the cereal for a few months in these districts.
As the state’s wheat production is also expected to decline, it will add to national demand at a time when wholesale prices are ruling at uncomfortably high levels of Rs 27-28 per kg for the second consecutive year.
