Month after launch, scheme for apple growers picks up pace

Sumayyah Qureshi
Tribune News Service
Srinagar, October 15

A month after it was launched by the government to ease the difficulties faced by apple growers, the market intervention scheme is slowly picking up pace since the rates of various grades of apple were revised recently.

As many as 3,087 growers have registered under the scheme so far, according to official data.

The initial response to the scheme, which is the first-ever support price-based procurement system for apple in J&K, was, however, lukewarm. The scheme was launched in association with the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED).

“The response has been good since we revised the rates of various grades of apple on October 7,”said Ajaz Ahmad Bhat, Director, Horticulture, Kashmir. “As many as 1,012 farmers have benefited from the scheme,” Bhat said.

The initial rates for A grade apple was (Rs 52), B (Rs 36) and C (Rs 15.75). The revised rates for A grade apple is (Rs 58), B (Rs 42) and C (Rs 22).

He said 1,700 metric tonnes of apple (1.15 lakh boxes) had been exported under the NAFED so far. “A total of 39,106 trucks have crossed Lakhanpur, which also include produce not exported through NAFED,” the horticulture director said. He said business worth Rs 7.26 crore had been done under NAFED.

President of the Fruit Mandi, Sopore, Fayaz Ahmed Malik, however, said: “The response to the scheme, even after the government revised the rates of apple, is not good in north Kashmir. The government is only procuring fruit which is of high quality. Around 300 boxes of apple of a grower were rejected by the government some days ago. The local grower is not getting any benefit.”

Malik said the government was being choosy while procuring the produce, which was affecting the grower. “They want the produce which has full colour. They reject the fruit even if there is a small defect,” he said. There are four procurement centres under the market intervention scheme – Parimpora in Srinagar, Shopian, Sopore and Batengoo in Anantnag.