Govt Policies Upsetting The Apple Cart?

Barely a fortnight after a farmers’ mahapanchayat at Ram Lila ground, the National Capital witnessed a protest by the representatives of the apple growers from Himalayan states on Tuesday. The apple growers came from the Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand and from the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir to air their resentment against the ‘anti horticulture’ policies of the Union government.

This was the first demonstration of its kind where apple orchardists from three core apple producing states of the country came together to air their grievances. Though the number of protestors was around 500, it needs to be kept in mind that these are states with sparse populations and these were representatives of the apple growers.

Their main grievance was against the model of corporatisation that has come into practice which according to the protestors forms a part of the anti-horticulture policies of the union government. “These policies have enabled large agribusiness corporate houses to make huge profits while the growers face a decline in their incomes,” said the Apple Farmers’ Federation of India (AFFI) which is an umbrella organisation of apple producers of different states.

In a statement issued by Sohan Singh Thakur of Himachal Pradesh, Zahoor Ahmad Rather of Jammu and Kashmir and Gangadhar Nautiyal of Uttarakhand it was stated that the apple growers are divided by state boundaries but united in their effort to save the apple economy.

The AFFI presented a nine-point charter of demands during the demonstration held at Jantar Mantar. One of the major demands raised was the withdrawal of eviction orders that had been served to farmers in Jammu and Kashmir by the administration of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.

The protestors alleged, “The Forest Department in Himachal Pradesh has also been sending out such draconian eviction notices in recent years.”

Along with this, the demand for remunerative prices for A, B and C grade apples as well as revival of Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) was kept forth to check the crashing of prices in the event of a glut. According to apple growers the MIS was introduced in the late eighties for horticulture as a replica of the minimum support price (MSP) mechanism in agriculture.

The scheme came into play when the production increased by 10 per cent or more or when the market fell by 10 per cent or more.

The apple growers have been pointing out for long that a major crisis they have been facing is on account of the constantly increasing production cost that goes hand in hand with the consistent withdrawal of subsidies by the government. They have been stating that the prices of inputs have been escalating at a fast rate be it manure, medicines or equipment.

They have often told this reporter that the cost of both medicines and manure have gone up at least 20 times since 1990 and that of the equipment at least seven fold in the corresponding period. If the spiralling petrol prices are also factored the image becomes all the gloomier for them.

In the context of Jammu and Kashmir, the growers want genuine freight charges to be announced and implemented. The growers from different states also seek that the government impose a 100 % import duty on apples.

This too is a long pending issue and the growers are in particular facing a problem with the apple being imported from Iran, Turkey and Afghanistan. They say that this hike in duty is very important to protect the Indian producer, no matter what state he comes from. They have been complaining that all they have been getting in this count is mere assurances since 2014.

The producers say that more than three crore boxes of locally produced apples are stored to be sold in the off season at attractive prices but imports from various countries during this off season upsets the whole apple cart of the local producers. The imports, particularly from Iran, are known to be high in volume and low in cost.

Iranian apples in the past reportedly came from the Afghanistan and Pakistan route to avoid import duty under South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) provisions. A regime change in Afghanistan has led to Iranian apples coming by sea which still remains comparatively cheap. A related demand of the growers is that only tested varieties of apple be imported for cultivation.

The apple producers have also demanded that a universal carton be mandated for packaging. Another demand that covers this along with certain other aspects is that the government remove the goods and services tax (GST) on all the products connected to apple. They have sought that fertilisers and cartons be provided at a cheaper rate to them.

A major issue concerning the apple producers pertains to the regulation of the controlled atmosphere stores being operated by private players. The issue has led to a lot of unrest in Himachal Pradesh in particular in the past.

The apple growers point out that huge concessions were given to corporate entities more than a decade ago for setting up controlled atmosphere stores. They allege that after initially buying apple produce from local growers at a higher price that led to the collapse of the majority of the small trading units, they later resorted to cutting down the procurement rates.

Leaders of Sanyukta Kisan Manch in the state have been stating that to make matters worse these companies do not adhere to the condition of allowing the apple producers to store their produce in these controlled atmosphere stores by utilising 25 per cent of their capacity at a nominal rate. They instead compel the producers to sell their produce to them on their terms.

It needs to be pointed out here that Himachal produces around 30 per cent India’s apple making it a Rs 5500 crore economy in the state.

Horticulture reportedly contributes around seven per cent of the state’s gross domestic product (GDP) and apple producers spread over 45 blocks have a major role to play in this. Apple producers in the state have often complained that despite the area under apple orchards increasing by 42 per cent in the last five decades the production has been unable to match this growth.

They have often complained that this is on account of not much emphasis being given to research and development to come out with new varieties.

During the protest at Jantar Mantar on Tuesday, the protestors said, “It is worth noting that an AFFI delegation had submitted a detailed memorandum to the union minister of agriculture. Narendra Singh Tomar on July 28, 2022 outlining the aforementioned demands. However, despite the submission of the memorandum, the minister failed to take action and as a result, the apple economy suffered a setback due to market conditions and climatic aberrations during the marketing season of 2022.”

They added, “The AFFI has resolved to build an organised movement against the anti-farmer and anti-horticultural policies of the union government, with the slogan of ‘Save Apple Economy, Save Apple Farmers’ #AFFI.”