Valley146;s cherry growers in the red

As the cultivation of season8217;s first cash crop, cherry, draws to a close in Kashmir, the growers are claiming...

As the cultivation of season8217;s first cash crop, cherry, draws to a close in Kashmir, the growers are claiming to have suffered losses of nearly Rs 75 crore. Their hopes of a bumper crop were dashed to the ground by three consecutive hailstorms in May that, the growers claim, wiped out almost 70 per cent of the crop from the orchards.

Although cherry is found almost everywhere in the Valley, the varieties grown at Shopian in south Kashmir and Tangmarg in north Kashmir are most popular the world over. A kilo of mishri variety usually fetches up to Rs 150-200 in mandis outside the state. This year, the produce of all the three varieties 8212; mishri, makhmali and double 8212; has not been plentiful.

8220;Being the season8217;s first cash crop, cherry is always important as it brings money for the growers that they need for maintenance of other crops,8221; Ghulam Rasool Bhat, president, Fruit Growers and Dealers Association told The Indian Express.

8220;This year, our chances of making good earning were shattered by the untimely hailstorm,8221; he said.

8220;After making assessments across the Kashmir, we found that growers have suffered losses of nearly Rs 75 crore,8221; Bhat said while adding that 8220;with cherry gone, growers will have to resort to taking loans from banks and individuals8221;.

In this season the growers were expecting a bumper crop. There were even predictions of production hitting an all-time high 8212; somewhere around 6,000 metric tonnes. At the end of the season, however, cherry export could barely touch 2,000 metric tonnes 8212; an all-time low production figure.

8220;Compared to previous years the cherry export has gone down this year,8221; said Showket Mir, managing director, Jammu and Kashmir Horticulture Produce Marketing Corporation JKHPMC.

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8220;In 2006, around 5,000 metric tonnes of cherry were exported; in 2007, it slipped to 2,300 metric tonnes,8221; he said.

8220;This year, we were expecting the export to cross 6,000 metric tonnes. But the continuous hailstorms in May destroyed 70 per cent crop that was all ready to be reaped,8221; he said, 8220;The crop was destroyed almost everywhere.8221;

Shabir Ahmad, who lives at Sangri village in Baramulla, said, 8220;The hailstorm was so devastating that nearly 90 per cent of the cherry crop was wiped out from my orchard,8221; he said. 8220;The orchard that used to fetch around Rs 2 lakh, couldn8217;t even produce cherry worth Rs 20,000.8221;

In the absence of a crop insurance scheme, the growers are now looking to the government for compensation. 8220;We have been demanding crop insurance for many years. But only promises have been made so far,8221; said Mohammad Sultan, of Shopian, who claimed to have lost cherry worth Rs 3 lakh. 8220;Insurance cover could have compensated our losses to some extent at least.8221;

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Director, JKHPMC, said the horticulture department had asked revenue authorities to make an assessment report of the losses. 8220;Now, it8217;s up to the Government to decide whether to compensate the growers or not,8221; he said.