Mumbai, December 2

An onion-grower from Maharashtra who had to sell his produce for a little over Re 1 per kg has sent his earnings to the Prime Minister to mark his protest.

Sanjay Sathe, resident of Niphad tehsil in Nashik district, was among the handful of “progressive farmers” selected by the Union Agriculture Ministry for an interaction with then US President Barack Obama in 2010.

Sathe said, “I produced 750 kg of onion this season but was offered a rate of Re 1 per kg at the Niphad wholesale market last week.

“Finally, I could negotiate a deal for Rs 1.40 per kg and received Rs 1,064 for 750 kg.”

“It was painful to see such paltry returns on four months of toil. Hence, I have donated Rs 1,064 to Disaster Relief Fund of the PMO as a protest. I had to pay an additional Rs 54 for sending it by money order,” he said.

Nashik in north Maharashtra accounts for 50 per cent of onion production in India.

Asked about his meeting with Obama, he said, “I have been using a voice-based advisory service (run by a telecom operator) for farmers for a long time. I used to get information about weather changes, and thus succeeded in increasing the production.

“I had also been invited to speak about experiments in agriculture on AIR. So I was selected to set up a stall in Mumbai. I spoke to him for a couple of minutes through an interpreter.” — PTI