Submits a memorandum to LG
The Apple Farmers’ Federation of India (AFFI) J&K Committee in Srinagar has raised concerns about the suspension of the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) by the Union government, which has caused worries among apple growers in Jammu and Kashmir.
In a memorandum submitted to LG Manoj Sinha, of which a copy lies with Kashmir Despatch, it reads, The MIS, which was launched in 2017 by the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), helped procure inferior-quality C-grade apples from the Valley.
However, this year, the scheme has been discontinued, leaving growers vulnerable to traders who could force them to sell their produce at throwaway rates.
In addition, inclement weather has curtailed yields by up to 50%, adding to the crisis.
The AFFI is demanding that the UT Administration revitalise the MIS and procure a significant part of the culled fruit at a remunerative price in the 2023–24 marketing season.
The committee is also calling for growers to be involved in value-added activities that process culled fruit into apple juice, jams, pickles, and breads, among others, on the pattern of Himachal Pradesh.
It further reads: Every year there are visuals of this culled fruit being dumped on highways and rivers, as the procurement under MIS is anyway a small portion of the total produce and most growers have no other avenue to sell their C-grade apples.
This year, with even this support mechanism gone, there will be no floor prices, and traders will force the growers to sell at throwaway rates. But the impending impact of the withdrawal of MIS can only be really understood after taking into account the condition of this year’s apple crop in J&K.
As per different media reports and information relayed by apple growers in the Valley to us, inclement weather since July has curtailed yields severely.
First, there was unseasonal rainfall in July, when the plants’ buds were completely blooming.
Finding conducive conditions, the dormant scab disease spread across the fruit trees, causing flowered buds to fall off significantly. Then, a prolonged a dry spell in the crucial months of August and September has negatively affected the size and colour of the apples, reducing their competitive edge in the open
market. While those farmers who had the capacity to move to high density Orchards were somewhat saved, but most farmers with traditional orchards are suffering. There are reports of dwarf apples falling off wilted trees.
The cumulative effect has been the reduction of total yield by 40 to 50%. That is a drop-in yield of 1 million metric tonnes or more! But what is even more concerning is that a larger portion of this year’s produce is turning out to be inferior C-grade culled fruit. So, while the reduction in the supply of quality apples may lead to an increase in their market prices, there will be no takers for the flood.
of culled fruit entering the markets.
A similar situation has also developed in Himachal Pradesh, with incessant rains and hailstorms damaged the apple crop. However, the state government Through its procurement agencies, HPMC has declared that the culled fruit would be procured at Rs. 12 per kilo. This scheme, if implemented at scale, will
reduce the burden on apple growers.
In the prevailing circumstances, the AFFI demands that:
1) The administration of J&K revitalises the MIS and procures a significant part of the culled fruit at a remunerative price in the 2023–24 marketing season.
2) The administration, through J&K HPMC, involves growers in value addition activities involved in processing culled fruit into apple juice, jams, pickles, breads, etc. on the pattern of Himachal Pradesh.
3) The administration should implement the Crop Insurance Scheme (CIS) forthwith.
4) Launch an inquiry on the failure of the J&K Horticulture Department in establishing adequate weather stations that could communicate the spread of scab disease from one region to another.
5) Revert the reduction of the import tariff on Washington apples and impose 100% import duty to safeguard apple growers in the country.
6) Regulation of freight charges on the pattern of Himachal Pradesh this job may kindly be entrusted to the concerned deputy. Communisers for framing rate the memorandum for further reading.
