Crisis in the Orchard: MLAs warn of foreign apples, fake pesticides threatening local horticulture

Jammu, March 24: Concerns over the influx of foreign apples and spurious pesticides dominated discussions during the deliberations on demands for grants in the Assembly on Monday with several MLAs calling for immediate government intervention.

The legislators also flagged the threats posed by low-quality chemicals to apple orchards.

Participating in the discussion, People’s Conference legislator Sajad Lone said that there were reports about the Central government eliminating the import duty on American Apples.

“ It would be a big challenge for our apple industry. The government should take some proactive measures to safeguard the interests of local farmers,” he said.

Reports suggest that the Central government is considering lowering the import duty on Washington apples following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a reciprocal tariff, set to roll out on April 2.

Lone said that spurious pesticides had wreaked havoc on the apple industry and called for stringent punishment.

“The penalty for such violations is too little with a jail term of one or two years,” Lone said.

Highlighting the significance of the horticulture industry, Lone said, “ It is the lifeline of employment and contributes around 8 percent to GDP.”

He said that around 7.5 lakh families were associated with the industry having an estimated turnover of Rs 10,000 crore.

“But the budgetary allocation is less than 1 percent, which amounts to Rs 700 crore,” Lone said.

He said that if the allocation had been increased to 8 percent, amounting to Rs 8,000 crore, and invested consistently over seven to eight years, it could have generated significant employment opportunities.

Shabir Ahmad Kullay, representing the apple-rich Shopian constituency, said that the government should create a separate horticulture ministry.

“Horticulture is a large and full-fledged sector, and bringing it under the Agriculture Production ministry is not justified. It requires a dedicated ministry  to address its specific challenges and unlock its full potential”, he said.

Kullay sought the establishment of a ministry for horticulture on the lines of Himachal Pradesh.

He said that Kashmir contributed to 75 percent of India’s total apple production.

“Kashmir exports more than 20 lakh metric tons of apples each year”,  said the legislator.

Raising concerns over new diseases brought by imported plant material, Kullay said that Kashmir  witnessed the emergence of new apple diseases like Aphid and Leaf Miner in recent years.

“The imported rootstock needed to be quarantined for two years, but since it was distributed without quarantine, it led to the spread of new diseases,” said the  ML Shopian.

People’s Democratic Party MLA Waheed ur Rehman Parra said that there should be quality checks on pesticides and fertilizers.

Parra called for bringing the Enforcement Directorate under the Horticulture Department to streamline the quality checks.

Parra also raised concerns over the reduction of import duty on Washington apples.

“The move will undercut the local produce”, he said.

Hasnain Masoodi, MLA Pampore stressed the need for streamlining the enforcement department to check spurious fertilizers and pesticides.

He also called for using organic fertilizers to help in preventing fatal diseases like cancer.

Echoing similar views, MLA Sonawari  Hilal Akbar Lone said that the government should take measures to prevent the reduction of import duty on Washington apples.

He drew the attention of the House to the wild boars damaging crops in his constituency.

Congress MLA Irfan Hafiz Lone called for a law similar to the NDPS Act to tackle those involved in selling fake fertilizers and pesticides.

He also said that the conversion of agricultural land should be stopped.