TINY STEPS

Government of Jammu and Kashmir in the recent past has tried to focus on the condition of farmers in Kashmir valley. As in the past several years farmer income has gone down, the final straw on the back of the camel proved the early snowfall in first week of November 2019.

It devastated the orchards and losses are running in hundreds of crores. While the government especially horticulture department claimed that they have done the survey of losses to apple growers and other farmers, but till date no compensation has been paid to them.

We are already in the month of February 2020, and the department of horticulture is only maintaining that they have submitted the report to the government for further necessary action. If the authorities will not intervene and provide timely cash compensation to the apple growers and other farmers who have suffered losses due to heavy snowfall, it would be too late for them to come out of debt trap.

Economy is already down in Kashmir valley and horticulture sector has remained as one of main backbones of rural economy in Kashmir valley. It needs immediate attention and intervention of the government to save this industry for future as the rural economy in Kashmir is showing visible signs of going down.

In such scenario the government instead of talking about incentives to the farmers should start focusing on how to help them to make new fruit orchards and also to provide them with some cash compensation so that they can buy sprays etc. as early as possible. If there is no intervention from the administration to save these orchardists from the private finance system being provided to them by some companies who are charging heavy percentage over such loans?