Heavy rains: Weather vagaries, floods jolt Himachal Pradesh’s apple industry

Last year, Himachal Pradesh, where more than 2 lakh families are directly associated with apple cultivation, produced 8 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of apples, according to Harish Chouhan, convenor, The Samyukta Kisan Manch, an association of 27 farmer outfits. But this year, apple production is estimated to be reduced to 3 lakh MT. “We have been producing 6-12 lakh MT of apples every year. In 2010, we even managed to produce the highest 12 lakh MT but this year both quality as well as quantity is on the lower side,” he says.

Sanjay fears that if weather vagaries persist in Himachal Pradesh, the fruit industry can collapse at any point. “We make apple orchards in hills because we do not have a flat land. The heavy rains in the month of April-May increased the water content in the soil and eventually the monsoon rains washed away the orchard land,” he says.

Sandeep Chouhan, a 42-year-old apple grower, says, “It’s been a wretched year for the farmers. Earlier, the heavy rains during the flowering stage had badly impacted the crop production and quality. This year, the crop was 40 percent lower than the previous years, the size and the colour were also below average.” Scanty snowfall, thunderstorm, hailstorm cloudbursts and untimely heavy rains has incurred him around 15 percent loss this year.

Low production has increased the prices of apples in the market. A 20 kg box of Royal Delicious is fetching between Rs 900 and Rs 3,000, while it was around Rs 500 to 2,000 last year. Harish says, “There is a clear gap between demand and supply, due to which the price of the apples has sharply increased in the fruit market. Almost 90 per cent of Himachal apples are sold and consumed within the country. The significant shortage of apple supply causes prices to skyrocket.”

Sanjay says, climate change has put the future of around 90 percent farmers at stake. “Every year I spend Rs 7-9 lakh on pesticides, fertilisers, labourers and orchard management but this year I have incurred a loss of Rs 10-15 lakh which means I do not have any money left for the orchard management for the next year. I do not know how to repay the bank loans,” he says.

Besides monsoon rains, the strong western disturbance brings heavy spells of rain and causes trouble to both agriculture and horticulture sectors. Cloudbursts, he says, have increased from two-three two decades ago to hundreds now in Himachal Pradesh, causing heavy loss to human lives, livestock, agriculture and allied sectors.

Prabal Kumari, who works as deputy director, horticulture department, in Shimla, says, the state disaster authority has compiled the report of losses suffered by the apple farmers in the state and accordingly the relief fund will be given to the affected farmers. “The changing weather is proving to be harmful for crops like apples but we do compensate for the losses in the form of providing farmers pesticides, fertilisers, different equipment required for apple cultivation,” says Kumari, who’s also the team leader for the World Bank-funded horticulture development project.

To mitigate the challenges of climate change in the region the focus needs to lie on cultivating high-density apples, says Davinder Thakur, deputy director, projects and planning horticulture, Himachal Pradesh, adding, “Over the years, the rising temperatures have become unfavourable for apple cultivation. Therefore, the government is planning to introduce high-density apple varieties which require less chilling period and provide good green cover.”

Thakur adds, through conventional farming, only 200 apple trees are planted per hectare compared to 1,100 apple trees per hectare needed for a good green cover and can accordingly change the micro climate of the region. Kumari also suggests farmers should grow drought-resilient crops that require less chilling.