Srinagar: Panic has gripped farmers in central Kashmir’s Budgam district after rumours spread about taxes on apple boxes sold to National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED), under the government’s Market Intervention Scheme (MIS).
As a result many farmers have stopped sales of their produce under the scheme.
Several farmers, who spoke to Kashmir Reader, expressed apprehensions that government would deduct money from their bank account as tax on the sales.
The growers stocked apple boxes in orchards in Chadoora, Wathora, Panzan, Dedmuribagh and adjoining villages in the area after the rumours about the tax spread in the area.
Initially, several farmers in the area had sold their crop under the MIS, however, the procurements have reduced over last few days.
“We sold hundreds of apple boxes to government (NAFED), but later on, we stopped after we came to know that taxes will be deducted from the amount deposited in our bank accounts by the government,” Abdul Rashid, an apple farmer from Chadoora, said.
The farmers said they have plucked the crop and packed it under relevant grades, but not sold it yet despite hike in the procurement prices by the NAFED.
A government official wishing anonymity told Kashmir Reader that apple crop is exempted from taxes, but “some miscreants” have spread the rumor in the area.
“We also heard this rumor from some of the farmers, who have already sold their crop to us. The Horticulture department assures them that not a single penny will be deducted from their accounts,” the official said.
He also assured that department would spread mass awareness among the farmers in coming days to defeat miscreants spreading rumors in the area.
Under the MIS three grades of apple boxes are purchased from the growers at Rs 59, Rs 44 and Rs 24 for A, B and C grade apples, respectively.
The farmers sold their crop to NAFED under MIS due to absence of non-local traders and local commission agents in Kashmir this year.
“Farmers have packaged the crop in boxes, but can’t sell it after no buyers in the area this season,” a farmer from Panzan said, adding, the crop would rot in boxes if its sale gets further delayed.
In Wathora and some areas of Chadoora, few local traders approached the “distressed” farmers, but they offer very little prices as compared to market value. Apples are cultivated on 3.87 lakh hectares of land in Kashmir and contributes 75 per cent of the apples produced in India, which fetches Rs 8000 crore annually and supports 45 percent of the population in J&K.
Budgam district has significantly contributed to the sector after thousands of hectares of Karewah and paddy land were converted into apple orchards in the last decade.
Due to the prevailing situation in Kashmir post abrogation of Article 370, fruit sellers have settled for lower prices.

Mir Iqbal