Farmers cultivating local big onions across several regions are grappling with severe financial hardship due to the absence of a fair market price for their produce.
Although the government has intervened through Sathosa offering to purchase big onions at Rs. 140 per kilogramme, the proposal has been met with strong resistance from the farming community.
Noting that the Sathosa purchase price is far below production costs, farmers are urging authorities to set a guaranteed minimum price between Rs. 220 and Rs. 240 per kilogramme to safeguard their livelihoods.
The crisis has particularly affected those who cultivated during the Yala season, as many farmers harvested their big onion crops nearly three months ago but remain unable to sell due to depressed market prices.
The unsold stocks have pushed cultivators in areas such as Polonnaruwa, Bakamuna, and Elahera into mounting debt and uncertainty.
In the Polonnaruwa Elahera Agrarian Scheme, where around 700 acres of big onions were planted this season, individual farmers reportedly have 10,000 kilograms of onions each stored at home, awaiting buyers.
Adding to their woes, the Sathosa purchasing process requires farmers to transport their produce to the Dambulla Economic Centre, located about 40 kilometres away.
With transport costs reaching around Rs. 10,000 per trip, many say the government’s offer is logistically impractical and economically unsustainable.
Farmers are now calling on the government to swiftly implement a revised pricing policy that reflects the true cost of production and ensures fair compensation for their efforts, warning that failure to act could jeopardize the country’s local big onion industry.
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