Farmers in Dhamnar village of Madhya Pradesh’s Mandsaur district held a symbolic funeral for their onion crop after market prices fell so sharply that they could not even cover production and transport costs.
Carrying a bier decorated with flowers, accompanied by drums and a full band, the farmers performed the “last rites” at the village cremation ground, a dramatic protest to highlight their mounting losses.
In the Malwa–Nimar belt, one of India’s largest onion-producing regions, farmers said they are being paid between ₹1 and ₹10 per kg in mandis, while production costs alone range from ₹10 to ₹12 per kg. “The onion procession is being held because we are unable to receive a fair price. A lot of costs have been incurred. If the government doesn’t wake up, what can we do? Where will we go if we can’t recover our costs?” said Badri Lal Dhakad, one of the farmers.
Devi Lal Vishwakarma added, “Onions are like children to us. The second crop was destroyed due to heavy rain. Now this crop has ‘died’ too, so we performed its last rites. The government is not giving a price that even covers our costs.”
Farmers pointed to the long-standing 25% export duty on onions, which they say has made Indian onions uncompetitive globally, reducing exports and creating a domestic oversupply that has caused mandi prices to collapse. Despite repeated appeals, the Centre has not removed the duty, even though former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan now serves as Union Agriculture Minister.
Tehsildar Rohit Singh Rajput, who received a memorandum from the protesting farmers, acknowledged their demands. “Farmers want higher prices. They are demanding government procurement at a support price. This will be reported to the Collector and forwarded to the government,” he said.
Mandsaur, long known for agrarian protests, may see further unrest. Farmers warned that if the export duty is not lifted and fair prices ensured soon, they will escalate their agitation across the region.
