Kashmir’s Rs 20,000 crore fruit economy at climate collapse risk

Srinagar, Jul 26: Despite repeated government announcements and mounting climate stress, Kashmir’s Rs 20,000 crore horticulture sector continues to remain without crop insurance cover.

A key reason, as revealed in an official RTI reply, is that high premium rates and lack of insurer interest have made the scheme unviable in Jammu and Kashmir.

“The delay in implementation of crop insurance for horticulture crops has been mainly due to non-participation and absence of healthy competition, coupled with high premium rates. The scheme could not be implemented in J&K till date,” reads the RTI response from the J&K Agriculture Department, the nodal agency for the scheme.

The absence of crop insurance comes as a major blow to the region’s fruit growers, particularly apple orchardists, who are already facing significant losses due to shifting weather patterns.

This year, prolonged dry spells and abnormally high temperatures have affected the development of fruit across many parts of Kashmir.

Orchardists say the fruit is underdeveloped, lighter in weight, and likely to fetch poor prices in the market.

Crop insurance has long been a key demand of Kashmir’s fruit growers, along with the introduction of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for apples.

Both demands remain unmet.

“Fruit growers in Kashmir have been consistently urging the government to introduce crop insurance and MSP to safeguard their interests. However, their demands are yet to be fulfilled,” said a representative of a growers’ association in Shopian.

According to the RTI reply to this correspondent, while the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and the Restructured Weather-Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) were formally adopted in J&K in 2016, they have not been implemented for horticulture crops.

“In November 2024, bids were invited from empanelled insurance companies to implement RWBCIS in both Kashmir and Jammu divisions. For Kashmir, bids were received from AIC of India and Iffco-Tokio for apple and saffron crops. Iffco-Tokio emerged as the lowest (L1) bidder. But their premium quotes ranged from 15.15 percent to nearly 30 percent rates, the government found it difficult to justify,” the RTI reply said. “The L1 companies have quoted rates in the range of 15.15 percent to 29.95 percent in the Kashmir division for apple and saffron crops.”

The matter was taken up by the State Level Coordination Committee on Crop Insurance (SLCCCI), chaired by the Chief Secretary, in May this year.

The committee raised concerns about the affordability of premiums and the past performance of shortlisted insurers in other sectors.

“It would be beneficial for the scheme if the performance of the shortlisted insurance companies in other insurance sectors (like health and general insurance) operating in J&K is evaluated,” the SLCCCI said, as per the RTI.

The committee ultimately decided to cancel the process and re-tender, in the hope of attracting more bidders and securing more competitive premium rates.

Between 2018-19 and 2023-24, J&K’s fresh and dry fruit production rose from 20.06 lakh metric tonnes to 26.43 lakh metric tonnes, an increase of nearly 10 percent.

The government officials have repeatedly praised the sector for supporting rural livelihoods and generating employment.

“The horticulture sector has been our silent achiever. This growth isn’t just about numbers, it’s about the improved livelihoods of thousands of farmers across the region,” a senior official in the Agriculture Production Department said.

Yet the sector’s steady growth remains at constant risk due to its exposure to climate shocks.

Without a risk mitigation tool like crop insurance, even a single hailstorm or early snowfall can destroy a season’s worth of earnings.

“Agriculture and allied sectors need to be viewed as sustainable sources of livelihood. For this, path-breaking initiatives have been taken to further the interests of farmers, leading to improvement in their incomes,” the department said in the RTI.

But for many farmers, those words ring hollow until an actual crop insurance policy is put in place.