Jammu, Sept 13: Apple Farmers’ Federation of India (AFFI), J&K Committee, Srinagar, has urged the J&K union territory administration to revitalize Marketing Intervention Scheme (MIS) for procurement of culled fruit, including C-grade apples, of Kashmir Apple growers. Besides, establishment of cold storage facilities and imposition of 100% import duties on foreign produce, including 600 metric tonnes of apples to be imported from America, were the main demands from the Federation. They put forth these demands during a meeting with LG Manoj Sinha at Raj Bhawan, Srinagar, today.
AFFI president Zahoor Ahmed Rather, while talking to this correspondent, said that the fruit growers of Jammu and Kashmir fear calamity awaiting this marketing season due to the suspension of Marketing Intervention Scheme (MIS) by the Union government. Adding that MIS played an important role in procuring inferior quality C-grade apples in the Valley since 2017 when the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) first launched the scheme. However, this year, the UT Administration has discontinued it for the current marketing season, causing much worry among growers.
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, even though this support mechanism has gone, there will be no floor prices, and traders will force the growers to sell at throwaway prices. 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, Zahoor further added.
As per different media reports and information relayed by apple growers in the Valley, 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 dry spell in the crucial months of August and September has negatively affected the size and color 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, 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 the total yield by 40% to 50%, which is a drop-in yield by 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 damaging the apple crop. However, the State government through its procurement agencies of HPMC have declared that the culled fruit would be procured at Rs 12 per kg. This scheme, if implemented on a scale, will reduce the burden of apple growers in J&K, he maintained.
In the prevailing circumstances, the AFFI demands that the Administration of J&K should revitalize the MIS and procure a significant part of the culled fruit at a remunerative price in the 2023-24 marketing season. The Administration, through J&K, involves growers in value-addition activities involved in processing culled fruit into apple fruit juice, jams, pickles, bread, etc., on the pattern of Himachal Pradesh. The Administration should implement the Crop Insurance Scheme (CIS) forthwith and 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. Revert the reduction of import tariff on 600 metric apples to be imported from America and impose 100% import duty to safeguard apple growers of the country, Zahoor maintained.
He further emphasized on regulation of freight charges on the pattern of Himachal Pradesh and suggested this job be entrusted to concerned Deputy Commissioners for framing rates. He also urged for the establishment of cold storage facilities for J&K fruit growers in all districts. Zahoor, along with Federation Secretary Abdul Rashid Itoo, met LG Manoj Sinha and put forth their issues before him. LG has given a patient hearing and assured them that their demands will be looked into at a priority basis.