The untimely snowfall of November 7 has wreaked havoc on the Valley’s horticulture sector. As per the initial estimates of the administration,
at least 50 percent trees have suffered damage of varying kinds in the massive snowfall that has brought the farmers under immense distress,
especially those who depend on earnings from orchards to fund the education of their kids and keep their kitchens running throughout the year.
However, unofficial figures suggest that the extent of damage to orchards, especially in south and central Kashmir, may be much higher than what
the government survey is trying to suggest. This is because the officials of the horticulture and revenue department have a fixed mandate and
timeline for completing the survey.
At the outset, the survey team is not in a position to check all the orchards in a particular district for assessing the losses. The actual
survey takes places for two or three days in a district during which the officials visit as many orchards as they can and based on their
assessment, they come up with a cumulative figure on the scale of losses.
Second, following the massive snowfall, a majority of apple and other trees have been virtually sliced into many parts by the weight of snow on
their branches. However, this is not the indicator of a damaged tree in the books of an administration. An argument goes that such a tree can be
fixed like a broken toy. Only thing is that a farmer has to replace an adhesive with clay, iron nails and reinforcements like sheets of plastic
or ropes. No doubt the tree will spring back to life but the life of such a tree gets reduced drastically and even the produce begins to fall
year after year till the tree meets its eventual death.
It is not only the life of a tree that gets shortened but the income of a farmer as well. Horticulture is the backbone of Kashmir’s rural
economy. The need of the hour is for the government to revise the parameters that are used to define a ‘damaged tree’. This will pave way for
sufficiently compensating an affected farmer. Besides, the amount of cash compensation given in such circumstances is pathetically low. It
should be revised at the earliest to provide succor to an aggrieved farmer.