Kashmir Apple Growers Anxious Over Misbranded Pesticides Eating Up Their Cash Crop

With the farming season already on, the misbranded pesticides and insecticides have caused anxiety among the orchardists.

Srinagar: Apple farmers in Kashmir are worried about their orchards with the onset of farming season in the Valley after the government's Agriculture Department detected misbranded pesticides and insecticides flooding the horticulture market.

Last week, the Quality Control and Chemist Laboratories of the Agriculture department found two widely used pesticides, Indofil M-45, which contains Mancozeb 75% WP as its active ingredient, and 'CAPTAF' containing the active ingredient Captan 50% WP, misbranded.

The batches of the two pesticides were seized and the Enforcement Wing of the Department seized the stock of the pesticides as per the Insecticides Act, 1968, and its associated rules.

The apple production in Kashmir is cultivated on nearly 4 lakh hectares of land, hovers between 20- 25 lakh metric tonnes every season, and contributes 10 per cent to the JK economy. Its production is 78 percent of the total production in Kashmir, the highest in India.

Orchardists in Kashmir, where more than 35 lakh persons earn livelihood from apple industry, for a long time are complaining of substandard and misbranded pesticides and insecticides flooding the market. And their use proves ineffective for the crop which is prone to attacks given the Valley's ideal climate and environment for pest growth.

A research published in International Journal of Agriculture and Animal Production cites the pest attack from codling moths, leaf miner, mites, and aphids for the financial losses for farmers as they impact quality of the apples, and hence their income.

Even though farmers use multiple methods to manage the pest attacks, chemical control methods such as the use of insecticides are recommended more by the agri-experts, yet farmers say the chemical use hits the production because of their sub-standard quality.

The department of Horticulture, agriculture and Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture Sciences and Technology issues alerts and guidelines for farmers during the season.

Deputy Director Enforcement, Feroz Ahmad Shapoo, told ETV Bharat the department carries out tests of all consignments of pesticides and insecticides.

“Those products that are found misbranded and sub-standard are seized. Misbranded pesticides have lower quantity of ingredients and hence are ineffective for pest control,” Shapoo said.

Farmers and apple growers associations are not convinced with the testing and enforcement by the government. Abdul Bari, an apple grower from Shopian, claimed productivity and quality of apples is deteriorating rather than improving by using the pesticides that have flooded the Kashmir fruit market.

“Agriculture department’s testing and enforcement do not create an actionable impact in the market. When the market is flooded with substandard, spurious and misbranded pesticides and insecticides, farmers are left with no choice but to use them, resulting in destruction to the apple sector,” Bari told ETV Bharat.

The young farmer said the government must be serious about curbing pesticides by breaking the “nexus between companies and officials” if the government wants to save this vital industry.

Zahoor Ahmad, president of Apple Federation of Jammu and Kashmir, said the tests and market checks are eyewash. “The officials collect samples and their test reports come after a long time; until then the pesticides or insecticides are used by farmers,” Ahmad told ETV Bharat.

Zahoor said that the tests are done on a particular batch of a product, asking how come a farmer knows whether the product’s other batches were fit to use.

He said that there is no accountability of dealers and companies when their products are found substandard or misbranded. “The officials ban the particular batch of a product but the companies and dealers are let off,” he said.

Director Law Enforcement J&K Balbir Singh insisted the enforcement wing is committed to safeguard the interests of the farming community.

Singh held a series of meetings with officials, companies and stakeholders and directed them to ensure quality pesticides and insecticides reach the farmers.

Joint Director Agriculture Kashmir Sartaj Ahmad Shah said that directions have been passed to the officers in the field to ensure that all the provisions of Insecticides Act, fertilizer control order are implemented in letter and spirit.

Zahoor said monitoring and testing of pesticides and insecticides must be continuous and rigorous and not merely an eyewash and for publicity.