Kulgam Convention: AFFI demands 100% import duty on apples

21 July 2024

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Kulgam, July 21: The two-day National Coordination Committee Meeting and Public meeting of the Apple Farmers Federation of India concluded successfully today in Chawalgam, Kulgam. The meeting was presided over by Rakesh Singha, National Co-coordinator and former MLA from Himachal Pradesh, with Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami, National Coordinator, presenting the report. Attendees included members from Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.

The adopted report called for immediate and policy solutions to prevent the corporatization of the apple industry, reduce production costs, and ensure remunerative prices for apple farmers.

Addressing the public meeting, Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami criticized the Jammu and Kashmir Administration for not preventing the distribution of spurious pesticides and fertilizers and allowing profiteering through price hikes of these inputs. He also condemned the Union Government for renting Controlled Atmosphere Stores (CAS) to corporate companies, including the Adani Group, and demanded subsidized storage facilities for farmers. He highlighted that the government provides a 50% subsidy to corporate companies to build CAS, which then operate at commercial rates.

Rakesh Singha accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of signing an agreement with U.S. President Joe Biden to reduce import duty from 70% to 50%, facilitating apple imports. He claimed the Modi government has impoverished farmers by increasing production costs, denying fair procurement prices, and encouraging corporatization of the apple industry. Singha noted the disparity between the domestic market price of apples (Rs. 250 to Rs. 500) and the procurement price for farmers (Rs. 30 to Rs. 60). He demanded a pricing policy to ensure farmers receive 50% of the retail price as procurement price.

P. Krishnaprasad, AIKS Finance Secretary and former MLA from Kerala, praised Kashmiri apple farmers for building a federation at the village level and their participation in the public meeting. He urged the creation of strong farmers’ federations in all villages to unite farmers around common issues. Krishnaprasad emphasized the impact of the farmers’ struggle at the Delhi borders and the recent electoral setbacks for the BJP-NDA as evidence of the power of united farmer and worker movements.

Zahoor Ahmad Rather, President of the Jammu Kashmir Apple Farmers Federation, demanded full insurance coverage for apple farmers in the public sector and quarantine measures for hybrid plants to prevent diseases in domestic plantations.

The NCC meeting resolved to submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister, Union Minister of Agriculture, Members of Parliament, respective Chief Ministers, and the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir to address the immediate and policy demands of apple farmers. Additionally, the meeting decided to enroll 56,500 new members for 2024-25 and convene village-level conventions in August and September.

The public meeting also featured addresses from Onkar Sha, Sucheta Sharma, Sohan Singh Takur, Bhoopal Singh Rawat, Ramesh Bhat, Abdul Rasheed, Mohmad Afzal, Mohmad Yaqoob, A. Rashid Pandit, and Bashir Ahmad. Shubojeet Dey delivered the vote of thanks.