Shimla, April 9 Farmers in Himachal Pradesh are in distress as unseasonal rain, snowfall, and hailstorms have caused immense damage to stone fruit, apple, and vegetable plantations, also destroying standing wheat crops across the state.
The erratic weather pattern has caused extensive damage to apple, stone fruit, and other fruit cultivation in some areas, Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi said on Thursday, adding that the extent of the loss will be assessed once the weather improves.
Currently, the compensation amount for crop loss is meager and needs revision. Negi said the matter has been raised with the Centre many times, but little has been done.
He appealed to farmers and fruit growers to take advantage of the weather crop insurance scheme and file a written complaint if compensation is not given. He added that some claims from 2023-24 have been settled while claims for 2024-25 are being processed.
Referring to the financial aid provided by the state government, the minister said that the earlier compensation was Rs 300 per bigha, which has been enhanced to Rs 8,000 per bigha under the special relief package.
He further said that pending payments to growers under the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) amounting to Rs 154 crore have been released, including Rs 60 crore left by the previous BJP government. The Centre has not paid its share under the MIS, he claimed.
"Scanty snowfall during winters harmed apple crop and now the unseasonal rain, snowfall and hailstorms have caused irreparable damage," apple grower Sonam Chauhan said, lamenting that the loss incurred is almost insurmountable.
Shyam Sharma, an orchardist in Shimla's Chopal area, said erratic weather conditions caused huge losses to growers. "During winters, apple growers suffered due to lack of snowfall. Flowering started with the sudden rise in temperature in early April, before and a sharp fall in mercury caused heavy losses."
The livelihood of apple growers depends entirely on the fruit harvest, and the government should compensate for the loss, he said.
Cultivators in Himachal Pradesh have little faith in companies providing weather-based crop insurance; the premiums are very high while the compensation is inadequate, Fruit, Vegetable and Flower Growers Association president Harish Chauhan said.
Another Chopal orchardist Ram Lal said the sudden drop in temperature at the flowering stage is lethal for apple crop and the government should intervene and help the distressed apple growers.
He said climate change has affected apple and other fruit crop over the past three to four years, and global warming has become a bane for the fruit industry.