Apple Growers Protest for Fair Prices at Jantar Mantar in Delhi

On Tuesday, apple growers from Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand took part in a demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi against the horticulture policies of the national government.

Farmers claimed that while growers' incomes were declining, these rules allowed major agribusiness corporate entities to earn enormous profits.

According to Zaroor Ahmad, secretary of the Apple Farmers Federation of India (AFFI), farmers do not receive fair rates for their harvests. Although apple growers are split up by state lines, he claimed that they are all working together to keep apple growing alive across the nation.

The Indian sub-continent the Himalayan region especially the state of Kashmir which is noted for its monsoon is supposed to be the most favorable location for the growth of not only apples but also other temperate fruits.

In a 9-point memorandum, the protesting farmers listed their demands, which included having the eviction orders given to farmers in Jammu and Kashmir withdrawn. According to the leaders of the farmers' bodies, such eviction letters have also been issued by the Himachal Pradesh Forest Department recently.

On July 28, 2022, the AFFI team sent a thorough memorandum articulating the aforementioned demands to Union Minister of Agriculture, Narendra Singh Tomar. The farmers claim that the Minister did nothing despite the memorandum's submission, and as a result, the apple economy suffered a setback due to market conditions and climatic anomalies during the 2022 marketing season.

Hannanmollah, the CPIM leader, also took part in the demonstration. Hannanmollah claimed that the Modi administration targets Kashmir's Muslim apple farmers in his speech to the farmers. India's federal government is murdering farmers.

The Muslim apple growers in the Kashmir valley are the focus of the Modi administration. He claimed that "they are slaughtering Muslim farmers.” The All India Kisan Sabha secretary, Viju Krishnan, also criticised the Modi administration's policies. He claimed that Indian farmers were not receiving the appropriate price for their harvest.