organize farmers. They never had imagined that farmers would come together to insist on a higher price. Moreover, they never wanted to waste their energy in a struggle where they were not getting any credit. Like politicians, even for traders it was a major jolt. Till that time NAFED had never purchased onion; the onion trade was entirely in the hands of private traders. For the farmers it was a major victory. This was the first time they had realized their collective strength. One impact of the agitation was the lifting of the ban by the Central Government on onion export. That happened on 25 April 1978. The agitation in a small town like Chakan had made an impact all the way in Delhi. One sad thing was that the Press in Maharashtra did not publish any news of that agitation and eventual victory of the farmers. It is important for the urban reader to understand what Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) is. Agriculture being the oldest profession in the world, trade of agriculture produce had also been equally ancient. It was controlled by the private traders. They often cheated the illiterate farmers. To stop that exploitation, Government established APMCs throughout India where farmers could bring their produce and where it would get sold in an auction to the trader bidding the highest price. In Maharashtra alone there were 300 APMCs. One was at Chakan. It was controlled by elected representatives of local institutions like Zilla Parishad, Gram Panchayat and different cooperative societies. Government built large yards for APMCs at prime locations with good access to roads. There was ample space for parking of goods vehicles, unloading of farm produce and for its storage. Washrooms, meeting halls, cabins for Market Committee members, hall for traders to set up their counters, weighing machines, mechanism 102
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Sharad Joshi : Leading Farmers to the Centre Stage
