JAMMU : The Jammu and Kashmir Apple Farmers Federation on Sunday held a convention at Sidhra, Jammu, to highlight the grave challenges confronting fruit growers across Jammu and Kashmir and urged the government to take immediate corrective measures to safeguard the horticulture sector.
The convention was addressed by CPI(M) leader and MLA Kulgam Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, Zahoor Ahmad Rather, President of the federation, Bashir Ahmad Wani, District President of the Federation, Kulgam and Ramesh Bhat, District Secretary Kulgam.
Addressing the convention, M.Y.Tarigami expressed serious concern over the unchecked supply of substandard and spurious pesticides, fungicides and fertilisers in the market, which has resulted in heavy losses to apple orchards and pushed growers into deep financial distress. There is an urgent need for strict quality checks and price regulation of HMO spray oil, fertilisers, fungicides and pesticides, and demanded a complete ban on duplicate and fake agro-chemicals.
The rampant sale of spurious agricultural inputs is destroying crops, eroding farmers’ incomes and forcing growers into debt. He demanded exemption and relief measures under the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) loan scheme and sought adequate compensation for orchard losses caused by floods and other natural calamities.
A strict monitoring of suppliers of high-density apple saplings to ensure quality standards and reasonable pricing, noting that poor-quality plants are severely affecting productivity and farmers’ livelihoods.
He called for the immediate withdrawal of the proposed railway track passing through apple orchards in Shopian, Pulwama and Kulgam districts. He warned that the project, in its current alignment, would lead to large-scale destruction of fertile orchards and threaten the livelihood of thousands of fruit growers. The government should waive off KCC loans as one time exemption due to huge losses to apple produce during the heavy floods and landslides leading to blockade of national highway during August-September, 2025.
Zahoor Rather emphasised that fruit growers form the backbone of the rural economy of Jammu and Kashmir and urged the government to address their long-pending demands on a priority basis to protect the future of the horticulture sector. He urged the government to accelerate its efforts for the establishment of cold storage houses at Tehsil levels to enable the growers to protect their fruit during extreme weather conditions and exigencies.
