Despite an expected record crop this season, apple farmers in Himachal Pradesh are spending sleepless nights. Reason: acute shortage of labour from Nepal.
Less number of working hands is delaying harvesting of the crop. The over three-month period has begun, but has failed to pick up pace, the farmers here said.
The apple belt in the state falls largely under the Shimla, Kullu, Kinnaur and Solan districts. Being a labour intensive process, Nepalese men (Gorkhas) are involved in huge numbers to help out in harvesting the crop. Exclusive to carrying out the activity for decades, Gorkhas are known to be adept with working on rough terrain like the ones in the apple belt.
“We are worried, as the number of working hands this season is meager. The crisis has already shot up the wages,” said Lekh Raj Chauhan, president of the Fruit and Vegetables Growers’ Association, Himachal Pradesh.
“If more number of Gorkhas don’t arrive soon, it will be difficult for the standing crop to reach markets across the country in time,” Chauhan told Business Standard.
Construction sites across the country are giving apple growers tough competition, as Gorkhas prefer working at the former for the high wages offered, he explained.
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Apple harvest in the belt starts in July with the lower altitudes and ends mid-October when the fruit is picked from higher altitude, where it ripens the last.
Farmers, however, are hopeful that there could soon be an increase in Gorkha numbers, as many are currently busy sowing paddy and other crops in their hometown.
“Once the sowing season ends in Nepal, many could still head this way and provide relief from the labour shortage,” said Giri Bahadur, a Nepali labourer currently working on the harvest.
Himachal Pradesh, along with Jammu & Kashmir, accounts for almost the entire apple production of India.