Bhubaneswar/Cuttack: Contrary to state government’s claim two years back that Orissa is self-sufficient in onion production, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister SN Patro said the state produces only about a lakh tonne bulbs.
Patro in his reaction to reporters at the Secretariat said the state requires about 4 lakh tonne onion per annum, but produces a quarter of its requirement. The minister’s reaction raises concern at a time when the state government has launched onion mission to boost its output in the state.
The state government in August 2015 claimed that it would launch the Onion Mission and set up 300 cold storages to ensure adequate storage and supply. It will also provide easy loans and high yielding seeds to the farmers. The then Agriculture Minister Pradip Maharathy had said, “Though Orissa produces 3.95 lakh tonne of onions every year against its requirement of 2.97 lakh tonne, farmers are forced to sell their produce to traders due to lack of cold storages.”
The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party have trained their guns on the government for allegedly misleading people on the state’s actual onion production. Patro’s statement also gives a clear indication about the failure of the state’s onion mission.
The Food Minister, however, denied that Onion Mission had failed. “We cannot change things overnight,” he said. Although the crisis persists for over two years, the minister has stated that onion production is not satisfactory as most of the state’s farmers adopt traditional methods of farming. Patro said steps are being taken to encourage farmers to go for onion production. With prices of onion going up by `5 to `7 every day the bulbs are being sold at over `20 and above in many parts of the state, the minister said steps are being taken to resolve the crisis in the next four days.
Meanwhile, civil supplies department officials conducted surprise checks at seven wholesale points and 25 retail points at Chhatrabazar and Malgodown area in Cuttack. District supplies officer Amar Mohapatra said the department has asked the sellers to cap the price of onion at `20.
Post News Network
