MUMBAI (Web Desk) – While the tragic incidents of suicides of farmers make headlines in India, an Indian farmer has revealed that he was only able to earn 1 rupee after selling 952kg onions.
Devidas Parbhane, a 48-year-old Maharashtra resident, said that he was expecting to earn at least Rs. 3 per kilogram at the district Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC), however he was shattered when he came back home and found out how much money he had actually earned.
According to Hindustan Times, Parbhane had grown onions in his two acres land at a cost of Rs. 80,000 and was able to harvest around 952kg onions at the end of season.
On May 10, he carried the onions to a Pune-based market via truck. He received Rs. 16 for every 10 kg of onions he sold, meaning a meagre Rs. 1.60 for every one kg of onions.
Devidas Parbhane received a total amount of Rs1,523.2 and out of it, the broker took Rs 91.35 as his commission, Rs 59 and Rs 18.55 were paid to labourers, and Rs 33.30 were spent on meeting other formalities.
From the remaining cash, he paid Rs. 1,320 to the truck driver, leaving only Rs. 1 to take home himself.
While narrating his story, he said that every day there was news about farmer committing suicide in drought-hit regions, adding that with onion prices so low, he will soon also meet a similar fate.
For four months, I and my family took care of our land and watered the onions, and in the end I am unable to recover even my expenditures, he said.
