Filled with clean, fresh mountain air, Himachal Pradesh, located in the north of India, is known as the country's "apple basket." "Apples are our livelihood," says young apple farmer Daksh Chauhan. In my grandfather's time, this region There was a lot of poverty. Apple cultivation has improved our lives. Apple cultivation started in Himachal Pradesh about a century ago and since then it has become the backbone of the state's economy. Of the 6.15 lakh hectares of agricultural land in the state, there are fruit orchards on about two lakh hectares, of which apple is cultivated on half the area (about 1.15 lakh hectares). However, with time apple cultivation has faced many challenges. Uncertainty of weather, old and low yielding orchards, traditional farming methods, and lack of irrigation facilities have affected the income of farmers, especially small landholders. Moreover, consumers started preferring imported varieties of apples, leading to recurring losses for small farmers. Unique InitiativeIn 2016, the Himachal Pradesh government once again adopted an innovative approach, just as it had earlier by encouraging apple cultivation in these green areas. -Was brought up on the barren mountains. The state has taken steps to reestablish apple farming as a vibrant sector in India. With the support of the World Bank's Himachal Pradesh Horticulture Development Project, farmers in the state were helped to change the way they cultivate the fruit. It focused on new planting material, modern farming techniques and storage, processing and marketing facilities, combining traditional methods with modern technologies, so that farmers could get better prices for their produce. Six years later, the results started emerging. .Under this project, 30 Farmer Producer Companies were established in six districts. Of these companies with a total membership of 12 thousand 400 farmers, 27% are women. Through these farmer producer companies, activities like grading and packaging of apples, processing of fruits, trading and cold storage are conducted. The turnover of these companies has reached approximately Rs 6 crore in 2022-23. Expansion of apple cultivation in the lower areas. Traditionally, vegetables have been cultivated in the lower areas of Himachal Pradesh. But now, new varieties of apples suitable for hot climate have been introduced. Rajesh Kumar, a 47-year-old farmer from Kothi Dwar village in Solan district, left vegetable farming and started gardening a new variety of 'low-chill' apples. He said, “Following my father's footsteps, I started growing tomatoes and vegetables on one acre of land. The income from vegetables was barely enough to support the family." "We had to spend a huge amount of money on pesticides and fungicides every year. Irrigation was also a big problem.” Due to these challenges, Rajesh could earn only Rs 50 thousand to Rs 60 thousand per bigha (about a quarter acre) in a year. But now their income from apple orchards has increased eight times to Rs 4-5 lakh per bigha. Rajesh says, "In the last five years, I have earned as much money by selling apples as I earned by selling tomatoes in fifteen years." Rajesh hopes that if the weather is favorable, in the coming years his income per bigha will be Rs. 14- This will be three times their current income. Higher density cultivation of apples is also possible. They are limited to 8-10 feet and their branches do not spread as wide as earlier varieties, so more trees can be planted on the same piece of land. Karan Singh of Dharho village in Solan district says, "The first apple I did not get much income from farming. But now it has become possible to plant about 150 trees of semi-dwarf variety on one bigha of my land, whereas only 20-30 trees of old varieties could be planted. "Fast and high yielding new varieties also start bearing fruits early. Karan Singh says, "These trees start bearing fruits in 3-4 years, whereas in traditional varieties it took 6-7 years for the farmers to get profits." Apart from this, the yield from these trees is high. "Each tree gives an average of 15-20 kg of fruit." Today, Karan earns an average of Rs 10-11 lakh. Solution to the irrigation problem: Under the project, farmers were organized into groups in the same water catchment area and water was provided to these groups for irrigation throughout the year by storing water from the hills in newly constructed tanks. This facility brought relief to farmers due to rain-dependent crops and seasonal water resources. Moreover, waterlogging was a major problem in the fields due to which valuable nutrients in the soil were lost and the trees became vulnerable to pests. And they became more sensitive to diseases. This problem was solved by adopting irrigation techniques suited to hilly areas and training farmers in the use of drip irrigation. Under the project, about 260 small irrigation facilities were created to make more land suitable for farming. Overall, by the end of the project in October 2024, irrigation facilities have made it possible to cultivate apples on 3,100 hectares of additional land and 10,900 hectares of existing orchards have been restored. To boost apple sales, three new fruit markets were created and six other markets were renovated to reduce post-harvest losses and ensure better prices to farmers for their produce. These markets gave an opportunity to farmers and traders from across the country to come together on one platform. In 2024-25, these markets have generated a revenue of about Rs 10 crore 40 lakh. The government's 'e-marketplace app' also made it easier for farmers to get information about the prices available in different fields. Taking advantage of this facility, farmers like Karan and Rajesh were able to sell their crops as far away as Jaipur in Rajasthan. Sudesh Kumar Mokhta, director of the Himachal Pradesh Horticulture Project, says, “Apples are our heritage and vital for the livelihood of our people. "Productive and environmentally sustainable apple farming will be the cornerstone of our farmers' prosperity now and in the future." Under the project, the help of international experts was also taken to upgrade the planting material and provide latest knowledge to the local farmers. Experts from New Zealand and the Netherlands evaluated the soil and topography of the area and gave important suggestions to the farmers. Karan learned a lot from this project, which helped him make a big difference on the ground. "Experts trained us in planting, pruning, proper nutrition and proper irrigation," he said. David Manctello, a scientist at the Plant and Food Research Institute of New Zealand, which trains farmers in Himachal Pradesh in the latest techniques, said: He says, "What took us twenty years to learn in New Zealand, could be implemented in Himachal Pradesh in just a few years." He praised the progressiveness of the farmers of the state. Nauni-based Dr. Y.S. Parmar Horticulture and Forestry University played an important role in expanding these new technologies. Demonstration plots were established, where farming techniques suited to the region's soil and climate were developed and farmers were taught to use them. Overall, more than 90 thousand farmers were trained under this project. “Himachal Pradesh's pioneering work in promoting apple production will not only benefit its present and future generations of farmers,” says Bekod Shamsiv, project in-charge of the World Bank. Not only will it benefit, but it will also pave the way for other parts of the country." He said that considering the diverse terrain and climatic conditions of India, there is a huge possibility of expanding this scheme to other states also. This will increase the production of fruits not only for the Indian market but also for international export. Today, the hill state of Himachal Pradesh of India has emerged as a leader in modern fruit production, setting an example for other states with horticultural traditions. Is.
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