Organic push turns Kashmir’s villages into high-value veggie hubs

Kulgam, Nov 23: In Wanigund, a small village in south Kashmir’s Qaimoh area, vegetable fields stay active through every season.

Farmers here cultivate an array of summer and winter crops - brinjal, tomatoes, potatoes, chillies, carrots, peas, beans, garlic, ginger, spinach, onions, turnips, radishes, cucumbers, gourds, pumpkins, collard leaves and kohlrabi.

The sheer variety and scale have earned Wanigund the nickname “Kashmir’s vegetable village.” The produce travels far beyond local markets, reaching states as distant as Tamil Nadu.

As winter sets in, farmers are busy harvesting onions and root vegetables that dominate markets across the valley. “We grow vegetables all year, even in winter,” said Farooq Ahmad Wani, 49, who cultivates three kanals of land. “In November alone, families earn between Rs 200,000 and Rs 400,000 from onion sales.”

Wani recently showcased his produce at an agriculture department event where Chief Minister Omar Abdullah bought vegetables from his stall. “He appreciated that we grow organic vegetables,” Wani said.

Once a barren settlement, Wanigund now has all 237 households engaged in vegetable farming- a practice five decades old. The village produces more than 4,000 kilograms of cucumbers daily in June and July. Nearly 400 families from Wanigund and neighbouring villages along the Vaishaw irrigation belt supply produce to mandis across Kashmir and beyond.

“Agriculture gave us independence,” said Sajad Ahmad Wani, 44, a postgraduate who left teaching to farm full-time. He said organic manure such as vermicompost has significantly improved yields and profits.

A senior agriculture officer said Wanigund alone produces more than 3,000 kilograms of vegetables every day. Several nearby villages have also grown into major vegetable clusters over the past decade.

In Gund Chal village of Bijbehara, nearly 200 families raise onion saplings across more than 400 kanals, supplying growers in multiple districts. “I grow exotic vegetables on 2.5 kanals and earn a good income,” said farmer Ghulam Muhammad. “Vegetables give returns every season, unlike paddy.”

For many households, vegetable farming now covers expenses ranging from food to school fees, something that paddy and apples are rarely guaranteed.

The trend is spreading even in hilly regions where apple and maize once dominated.

Brothers Umar Nazir, 25, and Mohsin, 20, from Wantrag village in Anantnag, began cultivating exotic vegetables last year. With government support, they have adopted hi-tech polyhouse farming. “It’s already giving good returns,” Umar said. “We don’t need to look for government jobs anymore.”

Government schemes including the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP), Per Drop More Crop and JKCIP have helped farmers shift to high-value crops through guidance and subsidies.

Farmers say vegetables are cheaper to grow than apples and offer faster returns. “Apple farming is expensive and risky,” Umar said.

While apples remain central to Jammu and Kashmir’s horticulture economy, vegetable farming is emerging as a crucial pillar.

Cultivation area has expanded from 22,000 hectares in 2021 to 34,158 hectares in 2025, producing nearly 1.77 million metric tons of vegetables and involving almost 1.4 million farmers.

The value of vegetable production rose from Rs 541 crore in 2022–23 to Rs 1,049 crore in 2023–24 and Rs 1,239 crore in 2024–25. Districts including Anantnag, Kulgam, Pulwama, Shopian, Baramulla and Budgam have become major contributors.

Besides Wanigund, other hotspots include Gund Chal in Bijbehara; Bangidar in Anantnag; Bugam and Narkara in Budgam; Mujgund, Anchar and Dal Lake in Srinagar; and Janbazpora and Arampora in Baramulla and Sopore.

In Budgam’s Bugam village, every landholder earns between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 4 lakh annually from vegetable cultivation, said farmer Feroz Ahmad. “More than 3,000 non-local laborers also work here. Vegetable cultivation has become a full-fledged trade.”

Despite the boom, farmers face several hurdles. Vegetables are not covered under the Prime Minister Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), leaving growers vulnerable to losses from hailstorms and heavy rains.

“There’s no insurance for us,” said progressive farmer Ghulam Muhammad of Arampora village in Sopore. “Climate change is damaging crops more frequently.”

Farmers also face unstable prices due to the lack of a minimum support price. “We invest in labor and seeds, but there’s no guarantee of fair rates at harvest,” he said.

Poor marketing and distribution add to their problems. Many farmers sell to middlemen at low prices because they lack transport to major mandis. Cold storage is scarce, resulting in distress sales.

“Even traders don’t have direct access to big markets,” said Mehrajudin Nath, general secretary of the Iqbal Sabzi Mandi Vegetable Traders Association- Srinagar. “Transport delays on the Srinagar–Jammu highway often cause vegetables to rot before reaching states like Delhi, Gujarat, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Kolkata.”

Director Agriculture Kashmir Sartaj Shah said the National Agriculture Market (eNAM) allows farmers to sell produce from home, but awareness remains low.

“HADP offers a 75 percent subsidy for mini cold storage units, but the response has been limited,” Shah said.

He confirmed that vegetables are not yet covered under PMFBY.

An official in the Marketing and Planning Department said the government is helping farmers connect directly with national markets through buyer–seller meets.

Under HADP, low-cost greenhouses, polyhouses and improved seedlings have extended the growing season from three to nine months.

From the plains of Kulgam to the hills of Anantnag and Budgam, vegetable cultivation is reshaping rural Kashmir.

For thousands of families, it has become a dependable source of income, reducing unemployment and strengthening the rural economy.

“Organic and diversified farming is the sustainable future,” said retired lecturer and farmer Manzoor Javaid of Achabal Anantnag, who cultivates exotic vegetables on five kanals. “Monoculture harms both the ecosystem and the economy.”

Across Kashmir, that future is already taking root -one harvest at a time.