Minister for Agriculture Production, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Cooperatives and Election Department, Javid Ahmad Dar, today chaired a meeting to review the impact of recent fruit fall incidents across horticultural zones of Shopian and Anantnag districts.
The Minister took stock of the damage reported from various orchard belts and reviewed the ongoing measures for assessment and mitigation. He directed the officials to undertake a comprehensive ground-level survey to accurately quantify losses and ensure the timely submission of reports.
The Minister emphasised the need for a broader response and called for an immediate assessment of fruit drop across major apple-growing districts, with specific focus on identifying vulnerable varieties and high-risk locations.
Stressing on quality control, he instructed the Enforcement Wing to intensify field inspections and take appropriate action against the sale of substandard or unauthorised pesticides and plant protection chemicals.
The Minister also directed the constitution of a committee headed by the Director Horticulture, Kashmir, to carry out a detailed assessment of the situation. The committee has been tasked with identifying the underlying causes of the incidents and submitting its report in a time-bound manner.
He further instructed the officers to ensure wide dissemination of scientific recommendations on balanced nutrient management. He asked for providing necessary handholding support to the farmers regarding scientific orchard management practices to mitigate risk of recurrence of such incidents.
Senior officers including Director Agriculture Kashmir, Director Horticulture Kashmir, Director Enforcement J&K, Director HPMC and Director Horticulture (P&M) Jammu and Kashmir besides other stakeholders attended the meeting.
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