Srinagar, Oct 04: President, Kashmir Chamber of Horticulture Hakim Khalid Ahmed on Saturday emphasized the need to address the pressing issues confronting the horticulture sector urgently.
In a statement issued, he said that given the sector’s seasonal nature, every passing day has severe implications for stakeholders, particularly growers who have invested immense hard work and finance with dedication and commitment.
While acknowledging the authorities’ efforts to restore the highway and initiating apple transportation by train, he stressed that much more needs to be done to prevent further deterioration of the sector.
He suggested the authorities to check the export of lower grade fruit, which he said causes severe damage to the good quality fruit.
He urged the concerned authorities to take cognizance of the weather forecast and have a proactive approach so as to avoid any further losses. He said that the recent appeal made by PICCA president is appreciable. We must have strong awareness programmes so as not to let the growers Panik and at the same time prevent the losses incurred due to mis-communication. Expressing solidarity of KCH with the growers and various representative organizations, he urged the concerned authorities to to take immediate action on several fronts, including: continuing the un hindered movement of fruit Laden trucks on the National Highway to enable timely arrival of quality fruit to respective markets; increasing the number and frequency of the rail racks and adding more collection/loading points Especially the Sopore mandi, which is one of the largest and busiest markets, handling a substantial volume of apple trade; compensating the growers by introduction of effective scheme to mitigate the effect of the present situation to some extent immediately with further delay; re-introduce the (MIS) Market Intervention Scheme to cultivators/Growers as a breather for at least sustaining the brunt of the recent unfavorable situation; and create a user friendly mechanism for real time information to growers from various mandies in the country.
He also reiterated his earlier suggestion to constitute a committee involving Government officials and stakeholders on urgent basis to identify issues that require immediate attention and redressal and oversee the implementation of various schemes. This he said should be done on priority and without loosing more time.
He emphasized the need for encouraging stakeholder engagement and consultation to ensure that the concerns of growers, traders, and other stakeholders are taken into account on a regular basis and while formulating policies and programs for the long term.
