Absence of sample testing facility, high freight charges upset Kashmir food entrepreneurs’ apple cart

They have to take products to labs outside Kashmir for quality checks; lack of proper training and government support also affect their prospects  Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir: When many of his age would lament over the transportation hassles, blockades on NH-44 and the sluggish market that held Kashmiri apple hostage at the peak of last year’s harvest season, Adnan Ali Khan (38) decided to do something out of the box. An apple grower and entrepreneur from South Kashmir’s Shopian district, he set out experimenting on apples to make chips!Three months later, Adnan’s unique product is awaiting market entry next month under the brand name Tufa Apple Chips. “The annual harvest from our 7.5-acre ancestral orchard is around 5,000 boxes of apples. Of these, 400 boxes (6,700 kg) are of B and C grades. We usually feed them to cows, and sometimes sell them to street vendors for a minimal price.”In a bid to plug the loss, the management graduate launched a startup and purchased a dehydrating machine with a loading capacity of 90 kg at one cycle. “It takes 15 to 19 hours to dry apple slices,” he says.  However, what hurt Adnan’s venture the most was the lack of product testing expertise in Kashmir. He had to take his product to places like Delhi to get the certificate of food testing, nutritional values of chips and legal proof. The process was both time-consuming and costlier.  Though a National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL)-accredited government lab functions in Jammu city, it is preoccupied with products from that region. Even if samples from Kashmir are accepted, in some cases, they are not able to fulfil the accreditation parameters that food business operators (FBOs) demand.“We have two NABL-accredited food processing labs in Kashmir, but with a limited capacity and accreditation. The one at the Islamic University of Science and Technology checks spices alone, and the other at Dalgate checks the quality of honey and a few other products,” Professor Haroon Naik, Director of Planning, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), tells 101Reporters. The valley’s premier institute, SKUAST is setting up a third lab, but its NABL accreditation is still a work in progress. “We will try to get accreditation for fruits, vegetables and meat,” he says.  An official at the Food Testing Laboratory in Dalgate says they do accept samples from FBOs, though the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India guidelines state that the FBOs should either set up an in-house laboratory or send samples to a private NABL lab for testing. “However, many times, we do not have the means of testing or accreditation for the parameters they require for their products.”Hurdles on the wayShakeela Bano, another aspiring entrepreneur, had a hard time with the dehydrating machine she got on subsidy from the horticulture department. With no training and technical support, she tried her hand at operating the machine and ended up with charred chips. “Kashmir lacks industrial expertise. I had to request other entrepreneurs who are making chips for training and product inspection,” says Bano. Her product is ready, but she does not know how to sell it. “I do not have any contacts of middlemen who will buy.” Tanveer-Ul-Haq (35), who runs his apple pulp brand Frutin Agro in Lassipora of Pulwama district, says, “We compete in the open market to send a consignment outside Kashmir, with middlemen with trucks deciding the rates. During the peak harvest season, I have to pay Rs 20 to 25 as freight charge for one kg of pulp. In the off-season, I pay Rs 7." Citing how he recently lost an order for apple pulp from Hyderabad owing to high freight rates, Tanveer says the government should provide subsidies on freight charges of processed foods.However, Zahoor Ahmad Bhat, Joint Director of Horticulture in Kashmir, tells 101Reporters that the Union Territory does not have a market intervention scheme in place. “In Himachal Pradesh, the government pays Rs 10 per kg of C grade apples to farmers, then gives those apples at cheaper prices to juice factories and lifts juice from factories as well.”Also, gaining a market for locally-processed apple products is difficult due to Chinese dominance. “Except raw material, we have to import every other item, including packaging material and machinery. Freight charges are also high,” says Prof Naik. “China controls the global market, so we cannot just rely on local markets for our apple processing foods. We are working on an export promotion policy, identifying countries where we can sell our products with GI tagging, much like what we achieved for saffron," he says, adding that the J&K administration has already set aside Rs 875 crore for processing units.   How processing helps The 295-km NH-44 is the primary road link that connects Kashmir Valley to Jammu and the rest of India. However, landslides, shooting stones, movement of military convoys and heavy civilian traffic affect the transportation of apples. India is the fifth largest apple producer in the world, with Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh providing a major share, according to a study published in the International Journal for Innovative Research in Multidisciplinary Field, 2020. It states production is growing every year, with the share of Jammu and Kashmir in the national production rising from 63.5% in 2006 to 77.2% in 2010. An official document from Kashmir’s horticulture department says around 3.5 million people are directly or indirectly associated with the apple industry which generates a revenue of Rs 10,000 crore annually. Its contribution to the Union Territory's GDP is nearly 10%. In 2022-2023, around 20,24,672 metric tonnes (MTs) of fresh apples were produced in Kashmir against the 19,95,101 MTs in 2019-2020. All these data point to the increased area under apple cultivation and the higher yield, which also suggest the need to equip the fledgling apple processing sector with proper infrastructure and support system. According to the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), Jammu and Kashmir provides 70.54% of the total apples in India.“Right now, the projects are scattered and are in the infancy stage.  Government intervention is needed at multiple levels. With the right support, small entrepreneurs will be able to establish a new sector in the Valley. Considering the volume of apple production, the processed food business will be a big enterprise for locals," says Adnan.Mushtaq Ahmad, who owns a 25-acre orchard in Sopore district, says the processing units will benefit people like him. “Farmers spend equally on all three grades of apple. Around 25% of C grade apples are free fallen, not equal in size and colour. Right now, C grade apples go to waste. Some farmers also bring disrepute to the industry by packaging C grade apples along with A grade under the latter’s label.”“If processing of C grade apples is possible, it will improve the finances of farmers, while also helping to keep the quality and brand image of the Kashmiri apple intact,” he adds. Tanveer could not agree more when he says, “I use C grade and free fall apples. It creates value addition for the farmer.”According to Prof Naik, out of over 20 lakh MT annual production, six lakh metric tonnes are available for processing. However, only 40,000 tonnes are processed currently. A 2021 study published in the Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics says nearly 30% of the total apple produce goes to waste due to pre-harvest drop, making the total annual quantum of such fruit about 0.25 million MT.Meanwhile, Kashmir’s former horticulture director Sarwar Naqash tells 101Reporters that the Central government has taken many steps to promote food processing industries in Kashmir, including under the Prime Minister's Reconstruction Programme which includes training and assistance to entrepreneurs.In another project, the Jammu and Kashmir government had in 2014 signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Food Processing Industries to provide 50% subsidy for establishing a food processing unit.“Our post-harvest losses are between 20 and 25%, but only 2 to 3% of apples undergo processing. There is a huge scope for processing apples into jam, jelly, juices, pickles and chips,” says a senior horticulture official on condition of anonymity. An employee Shamim Ahmad of Srinagar-based FIL Industries, which owns one of the biggest fruit processing units in the country, says over 1,500 people find direct employment with the company. The numbers increase manifold if associated services such as transportation, harvesting and labour are taken into account.Adnan says an emerging entrepreneur can employ at least five to 10 people directly. However, the scale of employment would increase only once the processing units remain functional and widen its base.An entrepreneur from Pulwama, Javaid Khan believes the processed food sector would boost secondary industries around it, including packaging and transportation. At the same time, there is no doubt that the establishment of sample testing laboratories would employ skilled youth with degrees in food technology and allied fields. Amid all the challenges, Adnan is busy these days researching how to sell his chips on Amazon and Flipkart. “The retail packets of my apple chips are already available on IndiaMart, but my aim is to go far beyond. I want to free Kashmiri apple from the highway hassles and market mess. I want to globalise our principal fruit,” he says.Cover Photo: Dried apple chips (Photo - Flickr/Eliza Adam)Edited by Rekha Pulinnoli

Kashmir's ambitious lavender plantations come up against market barriers

A relatively new entrant in the farming sector in Kashmir, lavender cultivation struggles to find a foothold, with the lack of proper market avenues proving detrimental to the lucrative agribusiness.Kashmir: Sheraz Ahmad, a 36-year-old farmer from the Kulgam district of south Kashmir, received praise from the village Panchayat for adopting organic farming of lavender in 0.37 acres of his land, a practice they think would inspire others to follow and earn a better livelihood.The Panchayat has assured lavender crop farmers that they would plan and help cultivate the cash crop at the grassroots and community levels. They started a campaign using Ahmad's project as a pilot advertisement for others to follow, besides promising help from banks and other government offices. However, Ahmad remains apprehensive of its prospects due to a lack of proper channels and markets to sell the produce. Besides, this sector is still in its infancy, and many are reluctant to join in this experimental phase."Farmers fear losses that might occur if they cultivate lavender on a mass scale on their farms and fields. Where will they sell their produce as there is no functional flower mandi? Neither is the government providing them with a facility nor is there a viable plan to sell their produce in time," Ahmad told 101Reporters. In 2014, while preparing to be a civil servant, Ahmad was motivated to enter the aromatic farming sector. As a student, he had learned about the scope of the fragrance industry at the international level and thus decided to invest in this sector. "It was worth a shot, but the market remains a big concern. If only the government works on the market management, then Kashmir will be a game-changer in lavender production in the whole of South Asia," he rallied.Growing potentialKashmir provides the best climatic conditions conducive to lavender plantations as it grows well in cold temperatures and moderately warm summers and needs one or two irrigations during the rain-fed periods. This cash crop has a gestation period of two years before reaching economic productivity. Lavender oil distilled from flowering spikes possesses a high aroma that holds a commanding position in perfumery, flavour and cosmetic industries. It is also used in anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, carminative, sedative, anti-depressive medications and is effective for burns and insect bites. According to scientists in Kashmir, the cosmetic, fragrance, and medical industries need lavender, both for its oil and its dried flowers.Even in these initial stages, with no proper market support and middlemen are handling the trade informally, lavender has given better benefits to farmers than traditional crops such as maize. A farmer earning around Rs 6,000 from maize cultivated on 0.125 acres of land is now earning around Rs 30,000 on the same piece of land through lavender. The farmers say that they can plant lavender on a large scale if a government-backed market strategy could be devised."Since the agro-climatic conditions of Kashmir are highly suitable for quality lavender production, the government's intervention in the setting up of cooperatives under contract farming for achieving the mission of the purple revolution will change the whole scenario. Kashmir is full of karewas lands (wastelands) where lavender can be grown in abundance," Bhat told 101Reporters. However, lavender cultivation remains unorganised, and whatever the private growers produce, they sell through personal networks. The government has not yet intervened in providing market linkages and in fixing prices for lavender oil. According to the Floriculture department's official records, around 80.23 acres of land are under aromatic plantation by the growers, and around 346 litres of aromatic oil, including lavender oil, were produced in 2020.Representational image: Women grinding lavender flowers in Ladakh (Picture credit - Flickr/sandeepachetan.com)Creating market connectionsTwo government departments, namely, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-IIIM in Srinagar and the Department of Agriculture, have their own lavender farms. The CSIR-IIIM looks after 900 acres of lavender farms across Jammu & Kashmir, including 600 acres in the Kashmir Valley. They own 60 acres of these farms in Kashmir, while the remaining 540 acres are owned by private growers, registered under the Aroma Mission launched in 2016. They intend to cover an area of 1500 hectares in the next two to three years. The Agriculture Department also has its own lavender farm of 49.42 acres and has managed the production of 150 kg of lavender oil in 2020.“Around 200 kg of oil was procured from our own farms during the last three years and sold at around Rs. 12,500 per kg,” an agricultural officer said "Around 2500 kg of lavender oil is being exported to other states like Mumbai, Delhi, MP where essential oil industries utilize it," said Dr Shahid from CSIR-IIIM, the Senior Scientist, Coordinator, Aroma Mission, J&K/Ladakh. The mission also connects a few growers to the entrepreneurs as a small step towards developing market linkages, but small farmers are unable to meet the enormous demands of the industry. "We need to set up cooperatives for the lavender farmers here to increase the production and meet the industry demand. We have an edge in this sector as Kashmir has a monopoly in terms of the area under lavender cultivation," said Dr Shahid. Under CSIR-Aroma Mission, Parvaiz Qazi, a senior research scientist at IIIM, Srinagar, the agro-scientists focus on the small and poor farmers whose lands are barren with no irrigation option."Farmers cultivating lavender can increase their income five to sixfold, which is around more than Rs. 5 lakh for 2.47 acres," said Qazi to 101Reporters.Entrepreneurship keeps hopes alive for sustained profitsKeeping this potential in view, Shahiq Nihal, 23, from Srinagar's Khanyar area, recently decided to become an entrepreneur rather than hunting for a government job. He converted his ancestral piece of land in Tangmarg — the village on the way to the Gulmarg tourist spot — into a sprawling lavender farm, which also saved the soil from erosion.Before setting up the farm, Nihal received formal training on lavender farming from CSIR-IIIM. He planted around 4,000 saplings of lavender. "These saplings do not require much attention," he said. "It is completely organic farming, using only cow dung as fertilizer."While Shahiq is satisfied with the market demand of lavender farming, the major problem he faces is the non-availability of distillation centres to extract the oil near his farm. He has not sold his produce of dried flowers yet, and no one has approached him till now. "We can extract oil only in the distillation units of CSIR-IIIM, which is far away from my farm. They should install distillation machines in every KVK (Krishi Vigyan Kendra) Centre," he suggested. "We have taken up the matter with the government for providing distillation units of essential oil extraction under subsidy schemes. We demand that it should be in every district so that farmers will have facilities in their respective districts," said a Floriculture Officer, who wished to remain anonymous. He also maintained that growers often complain that the flowers lose aromatic quality during transportation to large distances for extraction. These problems, however, have not deterred Kashmir's new-age entrepreneurs from dabbling in this experiment and taking calculated risks. Saquib Wani, a 31-year-old grower from Khrew Pampore, has been cultivating lavender since 2018 in his 6.91 acres of land. He now earns around Rs. 12 lakhs from lavender oil and flowers. He also sells to a middleman in Pulwama, who ties up with the consumers or companies outside.