Srinagar: The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Jammu and Kashmir, on Wednesday organised the 6th edition of the CII J&K Apple Conclave.
The conclave focused on the theme “From Orchard to Global Markets: Driving Apple Sector Transformation through Technology, Innovation and Partnership”, bringing together stakeholders to discuss the future of apple cultivation and the role of technology in enhancing productivity.
Agriculture Minister Javid Ahmad Dar attended as the chief guest. Prof. Nazir Ahmad Ganai, Vice Chancellor of SKUAST-Kashmir, was the guest of honour, while former ICAR Deputy Director General Dr N.K. Krishna Kumar represented the Government of India.
The conclave also featured senior CII representatives and industry leaders, including Iqram Ali Shafiee, Syed Junaid Altaf and Dawar Ashraf Mir, who discussed the future of J&K’s apple industry.
Discussions focused on the transition to high-density apple orchards, adoption of new varieties, climate-resilient farming practices, modern orchard technologies and management, post-harvest infrastructure, and access to global markets.
“The agri-industry is our progressive industry and we are trying our best to make this industry prosper. Due to climate change farmers are switching towards high density orchards because the orchard is giving the farmers good yield and a good money with least loss,” Minister Dar said.
He added, “We won’t be successful until we take the growers and stakeholders into confidence.”
“We need to make people aware about the high density orchards where the variety needs rotation after every five years to make good yield from our orchards as compared to the traditional orchards which used to be there for 30 to 40 years,” he said.
Addressing the gathering, SKUAST-K Vice Chancellor Professor Nazir Ahmad Ganai said, “We have more land under Apple cultivation as compared to America. India holds 6th position in Apple production so we have all the reasons to be the second largest country in the world to produce apples and for that the technologies like high density orchards should be adopted by every farmer.”
The conclave concluded with a call for greater cooperation among farmers, scientists, policymakers and the private sector to address challenges in apple production and ensure horticulture remains a sustainable source of livelihood across Jammu and Kashmir.
With global warming, extreme weather conditions and growing market competition posing challenges to the sector, stakeholders stressed that timely intervention would be crucial to maintaining Kashmir’s position as one of India’s major apple-producing regions.
