3 min readPuneMay 12, 2026 04:51 PM IST
Simmering frustration among onion farmers in Maharashtra’s Nashik district boiled over Tuesday when a grower dumped over 2,500 kg of onions outside the Nandgaon Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) building after waiting the entire day without his produce being put up for auction.
The incident triggered a protest outside the Nandgaon APMC, with farmers shouting slogans against the administration and traders and demanding the dissolution of the market committee, which they accused of being non-functional.
“A farmer brought his onion harvest to sell at Nandgaon APMC, but it was not considered for auction till the evening. He lost his patience and poured down over 2,500 kg of onions in front of the Nandgaon APMC in protest, while shouting slogans against the administration and traders,” said Balkrushna Sangale, a member of the Maharashtra State Onion Growers’ Association.
The protest comes amid a sharp decline in onion prices across several market yards in Maharashtra. Farmers say average-quality onions are currently fetching Rs 800 to Rs 1,000 per quintal, while smaller varieties are being sold for as little as Re 1 to Rs 4 per kg – well below input and transportation costs.
The price crash has left thousands of onion cultivators across the state in severe financial distress, with many unable to recover the costs of seeds, fertilisers, and logistics.
‘Dismiss Nandgaon APMC board of directors’
The Maharashtra State Onion Growers’ Association Tuesday accused the Nandgaon market committee of going defunct at the worst possible time for farmers.
“The Nandgaon APMC has been reduced to a mere name on paper. There is no administrative oversight whatsoever, and farmers are being left to fend for themselves. What we are witnessing is complete lawlessness, with authorities choosing to look away while growers suffer,” Bharat Dighole, President, Maharashtra State Onion Growers’ Association, told The Indian Express.
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However, Dighole said simply dissolving the APMC would not be the answer and could, in fact, make things worse.
“The market committee has clearly failed in its most basic duty – conducting auctions for farmers’ produce. While many growers are now demanding that the APMC be dissolved out of sheer frustration, shutting it down at a time when prices are already at rock bottom will only deepen the crisis,” Dighole said.
Instead of dissolution, Dighole called for the dismissal of the APMC’s entire board of directors and swift administrative action against negligent officials.
“When a market committee cannot fulfil its most basic function of auctioning farmers’ produce, its board of directors has no business continuing in office. The entire board must be disqualified and removed, errant officers and staff suspended without delay, and a government-appointed administrator installed to run the committee,” Dighole added.
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