Ladakh eyes more apricot production amid drought

Arjun Sharma

Jammu, May 2

Amid a drought-like situation for the past three years besides pest (codling moth) attack, the Ladakh administration is pushing for apricot production in the region. Villages in and around Batalik sector, which witnessed action during the Kargil war in 1999, are also being encouraged to increase the production due to their topography and climatic conditions. The fruit grows in cold arid regions.

The UT’s Tourism Department recently organised the Apricot Blossom Festival at Skuru village in Nubra subdivision to promote the fruit. Due to the menace of codling moth, a blanket ban has been imposed on the export of fresh fruit. Only dried fruit is sent to other parts of the country and the world.

Kargil’s Chief Horticulture Officer Ali Raza says Ladakh produces over 60% of the country’s apricot. “At present, 1,655.04 hectares of land are under apricot cultivation, having annual estimated production of 11,067.46 metric tonnes, fetching Rs 30-35 crore annually for Kargil farmers,” he says.

In 2019, the area under apricot cultivation was 2,303 hectares in Ladakh (Leh and Kargil districts). It has increased 9.4% in Kargil and decreased by 16% in Leh.

As per a study published in the Journal of Food and Agriculture Research, the decrease in Leh is due to dying of plants in flood-affected areas.

As per a survey, there were 38,591 fruit-bearing apricot trees in Batalik region in 2015 that decreased to 38,358 the next year. But in 2017, the number rose to 40,433, which further inflated to 73,530 in 2018 and 75,779 in 2019. Due to the Covid outbreak, the number in the successive years could not be counted.

Apricot varieties in Kargil include Halman, Margulam, Khantay, Ngarmo, Koban, Stonchuli, Shilichuli, Lialatili, Tsangyachuli and Khochli among others. Halman is the most popular, occupying the maximum area under cultivation.

Sonam Stanzin Thangjuk, a progressive farmer from Domkhar village in Leh who has been awarded for his exceptional agricultural work, says apricot farmers struggle for packaging and marketing strategy for sale in different parts of the country and abroad. “Pest attack and lack of irrigation in some parts are the other dampeners,” says Sonam.

The government also provides subsidy for procuring fruit dryers. Sarpanch Haji Mohammad Hassan from Chuliskamboo village in Kargil, who recently met Lieutenant Governor RK Mathur, said an irrigation canal was needed in his village, declared a model one for apricot production.

The Chief Horticulture Officer, Ali Raza, says farmers will be given 50% of the cost for establishing individual fruit orchard. Subsidy assistance will also be given in drought-prone areas, he adds.

Cultivation rising

• 2,303 -hectare land in Ladakh was under apricot cultivation in 2019. Now, it has risen 9.4% in Kargil and fallen 16% in Leh.
• 38,591 fruit-bearing apricot trees in Batalik region in 2015 decreased to 38,358 the next year.
• 40,433 trees recorded in 2017, which further rose to 73,530 in 2018 and 75,779 in 2019.

11,067.46 MT production in Kargil

1,655-hectare land is under apricot, producing 11K MT annually, fetching Rs 30-35 crore. — Ali Raza, Chief Horticulture Officer