Preserving the Pink Bulb: Storing and Speculating on Onions in Rural India

Keywords: Storage, agriculture, aspiration, India
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Saturday
Session Start / End Time: 2/26/2022 05:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/26/2022 06:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 5

Abstract

Across Malwa, a predominantly agricultural region in central India, storing produce is a persistent concern for farmers. In the absence of public storage infrastructures, homes are often converted into storehouses for soybean, wheat and gram prior to their transportation to markets. Onions, however, pose a peculiar problem. As lively commodities, onions can rot and sprout and spoil, especially during the monsoon months. Their storage requires active care, constant observation and regular sorting in order to preserve value. At the same time, as a highly price-volatile crop, storage is vital to speculative accumulation. Farmers store onions for several months, hoping to capitalize on a brief period between harvests when supplies run short and prices generally rise. Yet, it is primarily elite farmers who have access to dark, dry and well-ventilated rooms and warehouses appropriate to storing onions. Storage is, therefore, both an index of and a path toward prosperity. Equally, when onion supplies dwindle and prices skyrocket, the Indian government views these practices of storage as suspect and even criminal, accusing farmers and traders of hoarding what is considered an essential commodity and kitchen staple in India. Storage is crucial to capital accumulation even as it carries inherent risks - of spoilage, government confiscation, and price crashes. Through close attention to the materialities and imaginaries that surround this particular agri-commodity, it theorizes storage as a speculative and aspirational practice through which farmers anticipate the future and strive for better futures.