Dhawalpuri (Ahmednagar): A narrow road off the Ahmednagar-Kalyan highway in northern Maharashtra leads to the small village of Dhawalpuri.
Salan Nana Pande (65) lives in one of the semi-pucca houses.
This year, however, has been different.
While onions have sold for rock-bottom prices.
Even the productivity of onions has been impacted by scanty rainfall.
The capacity of the infrastructures, like irrigation canals from these eleven rivers, supports cultivation in 19.64% irrigated area whereas the remaining 80.24% of the area is rain-fed land, according to the Economic Survey of Maharashtra 2017-2018.
Ironically, erratic rainfall in the hilly mountainous region of Thakarwadi has made her children move to the city for better income sources, while their agricultural land remains barren.
She shares,“ The Kharif cultivation of onions in the small plots will fetch us Rs 7 per kg due to the size and quality, whereas the seasonal income from the city is sufficient to run a household of six”.
The farmers have been prey to drought and low pricing of onions.
Minimum support prices are set for pulses, paddy and few other crops that cannot be grown due to drought, leaving the rural people perplexed while selling perishable produce like onions.