The Apple Farmers’ Federation of India has written a letter to Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar urging his attention into the crisis in the sector. Issues such us high input cost, lack of fair price and unavailability of infrastructure such as cold chains, were making the crisis worse for apple growers, they said.
They told Mr. Tomar in a memorandum that the unbridled increase in the cost of production, transportation and the cost of living due to unprecedented price rise had made apple cultivation unremunerative. "For instance, in the last two years, the costs of fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides, and other equipment like spray machines and tools, have doubled. The farm workers are also not paid sufficiently to live with dignity and face job insecurity. Hence they are forced to migrate to other sectors in search of better jobs and income. The small and middle peasants and agricultural worker households face widespread indebtedness, distress and resultant pauperisation. Even in this circumstance, the government of India is being insensitive to the demand of minimum support price at the rate of C2 [comprehensive cost]+50% and freedom from indebtedness by the apple farmers," the federation said in the memorandum.
