terms it policy of direThe apple growers blamed that National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED) is paying peanuts to them for the Apple crop.
According to the growers , the government had announced that NAFED will their apple crop on reasonable prices at respective Fruit markets of districts.
But according to the growers the parameters set by the NAFED for buying the apple crop is based on injustice as the weight has been set for apple boxes of 5 , 10 , and 15 Kg’s but most of the boxes weigh more than the limit set by the NAFED authorities and they pay only for the the limit which they have set.
Manzoor Ah, one of the apple growers mentioned that the boxes are weighing 3, 4 and 5 kg’s more than the prescribed limit and he blamed NAFED authorities of illogical sense and sheer injustice to Apple growers. They termed it as beyond logic that how can they pay 8 kg box for only 5 kg and 20 kg box for only 15 kg, they questioned.
When questioned concerned NAFED officials they clarified that the norms have been sent by director horticulture not us.
More ever he mentioned that NAFED has no role in setting the parameters and he claimed that they are set by director horticult
When CNS contacted Director horticulture Aijaz Ah Bhat to seek his answer on the issue , he confessed that parameters have been set but he further mention that they will try to revive them in coming days for benefit of farmers.
Meanwhile replying to a question about availability of substandard pesticides in the Market, he said that horticulture department is collecting samples of the available pesticides and rules out any possible of availability of substandard pesticides and fertilizers in the Market, barring exceptional cases.
He also added that the aim of visit to Kulgam was to provide necessary guidelines to orchardists in view of winter.(CNS)
