BITTER HARVEST

The political turmoil of the past eighteen months has hit Kashmir’s apple industry hard. The entry of the NAFED and the import of duty-free Iranian apples through the Afghanistan route is being seen as interventions that will upset the apple-cart further, reports Yawar Hussain

- Yawar Hussain

When Jammu and Kashmir administration signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) in January 2020, it was expected to promote the state’s horticulture produce and take it to the global market. A year later, the NAFED has done little to help the apple farmers. On the contrary, it has shaken up already smooth and profitably functioning decades-old setup of the Rs 9000 crore worth horticulture industry. The entry of the duty-free Iranian apples through Afghanistan route has only further detracted from the profitability of the apple.

Kashmir’s apple growers who produce nearly 20 lakh metric tons of apples every year, more than two-third of India’s total apple production, have been expressing concerns about the issues that threaten the basic foundation of the apple industry in the coming years.

UPSETTING THE APPLE CART

When the NAFED was brought to Kashmir, it was expected to cover 5,500 hectares at a cost of Rs 1,700 crore in the next five years with a major focus on apple, walnut, cherry, pear and other significant horticulture produce. The Federation had to also set up 20 Farmer-Producer Organizations, one in each district in addition to three cold storage clusters, one each in the north and south Kashmir and one at Kathua, Jammu at a cost of Rs 500 crore.

Prior to the signing of the MoU, the Union Cabinet had given its nod to NAFED to buy 12 lakh tonnes of apples in Jammu and Kashmir in 2020. In 2019, the agency had managed to procure only about one per cent of its target of 13 lakh tonnes accounting for 15,770 tonnes of fruit valued at Rs 70 crore, according to the official data of the Ministry of Home Affairs.