'Organic farming is the future for Himachal apples'

Two experts have said that taking up organic farming in a big way is the only way for apple farmers of Himachal Pradesh to make an impact in the global market.

The experts, an Indian and a Swiss, have just ended their field trip to the hill state to raise awareness about the need for adopting organic farming instead of chemical farming in apple orchards.

Apple is the main cash crop of Himachal Pradesh, and along with neighbouring states Jammu and Kashmir and Uttaranchal, it accounts for almost the entire apple production of the country.

However the Indian apple is not able compete with the best in the international market as their quality is far behind the fruit grown by organic methods, particularly in countries like Switzerland.

"Heavy use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides by Himachal apple farmers has degraded the soil of the orchards and damaged the eco-system due to which the inputs were going up but the output was dropping steadily for the farmers," said Samuel B Moser, the Swiss expert. "The pattern is the same in Jammu and Kashmir and Uttaranchal as well," he added.

"During our week-long awareness campaign, surprisingly we found 80 farmers who were already practising organic farming on the orchards with good results. But this is only a microscopic minority," said Tej Pratap Singh, executive director of the International Competency Centre for Organic Farming in Bangalore.

"The advantage of adopting organic farming is two-fold as it reduces cost and raises production," Singh said.

"Even though the state government has done little to promote and manufacture organic fertilisers, farmers can take the initiative and produce organic manure on their farms," he said.

Experts said growing the apple organically would not only fetch higher returns, but also help in restoring the eco-system damaged by the use of harmful chemical fertilisers and pesticides.

"China, the world's largest producer of apples has already started producing the fruit with the help of organic farming in a big way as it is more in demand in the international market and so must India," said Singh.

The Himachal apple industry accounts for around Rs 1000 crores and is grown mainly in Shimla, Kinnaur and Kullu districts.