SWEATING IN THE HILLS

The only thing swadeshi about the apples are the soil and the water we use,” says Rohit Verma, an apple grower in Sarion village, near Theog in Himachal Pradesh.

“The fertilisers, micronutrients, pesticides and even the tools are from Europe and America. The war between Ukraine and Russia has had a cascading impact as costs of materials soared. The government increased GST on packaging material by 6 per cent. Now, even the high-yielding apple saplings are imported from Italy. Apples might be identified with Himachal Pradesh, but the farmers suffer. Even if we discount our labour, we are not able to recover our costs.”

His neighbour Joginder Singh chips in. “For a smaller farmer who produces up to 400 boxes of apples, it is no longer possible to sustain his family,” he says. “There should be a support price.”

In the apple belt of Himachal Pradesh, one hears sentiments similar to those found during the massive farmers’ movement in Punjab. Perhaps the apple growers here drew energy from their brethren. The rising input costs, low yield because of climate change, and entry of private players—which tends to benefit big farmers— are worrying apple growers in the hill state. The only cash crop in Himachal is said to be a ₹6,000 crore industry, and impacts lakhs of lives. The apple aside, the state relies on tourism and government jobs as main sources of livelihood.