Those reeling under the weight of costly onions finally have something to cheer about. A few farmers from the Nashik district are directly selling their produce to customers in Navi Mumbai.
The tempos of these farmers can be seen parked in Kharghar, Belapur, Panvel, Kamothe, and Khandeshwar areas, where they are selling onions in 5kg bags for anywhere between Rs125 -150.
“There are around 10-15 farmers from Nashik who have decided to do market their produce themselves and bring the commodity to the city and sell it directly to customers. We park our vehicles at some convenient location and sell the produce. Most importantly, it is a win-win situation for us and also for the customers,” said Nagnath Pawar, a Nashik-based farmer, selling onions in Kharghar.
He added, “We get our share in the profits, and customers get onions at reasonable rates. No wonder then that we have people flocking our vehicles. If middlemen are avoided, both farmers and customers stand to gain. When onion prices zoomed, farmers did not get their due share and it was pocketed by the middlemen. By the time onions reach the retail market, the prices have gone up 4-5 times.”
Pawar said, “Earlier we used to market our produce on roadsides. Now some people get in touch with us on our cell phones and ask us to deliver the onions to their housing societies. Once we go to any society, the news spreads and others also come to know of our initiative. We are getting a good response.
Today, the situation is such that we go directly to housing societies and sell onions there. Nearly two tempos of onions are sold out in Navi Mumbai on a daily basis.”
Residents too, have welcomed this initiative, saying, “Once I had been to a retail chain store in Kharghar, and the price of onions was really high, and the quality was extremely poor. The onions offered by farmers are cheap and the quality is good.”
