Govt proposing hike in prices of apples in Kashmir
By Newsmeter Network Published on 29 Sep 2019 2:55 PM GMT
The J&K government is set to move a proposal for revising the price of apples under the Market Intervention Scheme recently launched for apple farmers of Kashmir.
The scheme was announced by the J&K government on August 12 at a time when Kashmir is under a lockdown.
Earlier the government had announced that NAFED, which is the nodal agency will be procuring apples directly from the farmers and fixed price of Rs 54. 38 and 15.75 for A , B and C grade apple.
The government set up four procurement centres across Kashmir for procurement of apples. J&K Department of Horticulture Marketing and Planning (J&KDHMP) is assisting NAFED in registering and grading of apple at these procurement centers in Kashmir.
To date, over 3000 farmer have registered themselves with NAFED and J&K DHPC. To encourage more farmers to join the scheme the government is now proposing to increase the prices for the apple, official sources said. “The horticulture department is proposing a hike in the prices of apples so that farmers can get better returns for their produce,’’ a senior government officer said. The official added that he was confident that C grade would also fetch close to Rs 20.
Apple is cultivated on 3.87 lakh hectares in Kashmir and fetches Rs 8000 crore annually. It supports seven lakh families. Kashmir contributes 75 per cent of the apple produced in India.
