AIKS seeks government intervention to save apple farmers

Shopian, Aug 04: All India Kissan Sabha( AIKS) president Rajan Kshirsagar on Sunday advocated for a substantial import duty on apples.

"The government has enhanced the apple imports by 70 percent form outside countries and it is severely affecting the apple cultivators of Kashmir," Rajan told reporters in the apple rich village of Tukroo in south Kashmir's Shopian district. He demanded 100 percent duty on apples imported from countries like Washington, China, Iran and South Africa.

He said that more than 5 lakh tonnes of apples are being imported from different countries. The farmer leader said that the majority of the people in Kashmir rely on apple farming for their livelihood and such policies would have detrimental impact on their economic stability. Rajan demanded the introduction of minimum support price (MSP) for the apple farmers of Kashmir.

Expressing concern over the unabated sale of spurious fertilizers, Rajan said that the government should come up with a stringent law to deal with those selling substandard fertilizers to farmers, which spell doom to the apple orchards. Rajan said that under the guise of crop insurance schemes, the government is directly benefiting big corporate houses.

“The government should roll out a specific and comprehensive insurance scheme for the farmers of Kashmir”, he said. Ranjan said that the imported rootstock brought to the valley is being propely quarantined, leading to the outbreak of new pests.

While addressing the convention, G M Mizrab, secretary CPI ( J&K) said that apple farmers have been grappling with losses over the last many years due to the government's indifference. He said that the government should roll out the market intervention scheme to help alleviate the farmers’ distress. Mizrab demanded the establishment of government run cold storage facilities in each district.

“Additionally, the government should set up the juice plants in different apple-rich districts,” he said. Mizrab also demanded the procurement of new and scientific equipment to identify and manage diseases affecting apple farms.