SHIMLA: As many as 33 Apple growers’ associations have made a fresh fervent plea to the Sukhu government for implementation of the APMC Act in apple Markets to give fair prices to the farmers in the Mandis in the state.
Apart from this, farmers also demand the formulation of the Horticulture Development Police for the next ten years as the apple industry is reeling under a huge crisis due to the meteoric rise in cost of production, lack of labour and climate change.
These organizations came on a single platform today reiterating the long pending demands of the apple farmers over the years.
These organization had formed a common sayunkt Kisan Manch and had presented the 20- point charter of the demands to the previous BJP government. They had staged a series of protests in front of Secretariat, Rohru and other places to broadcast their grievances to the then BJP government.
But then then Jai Ram Thakur government kept their demands in deep freeze even as it had announced formation of various committees to discuss and implement these demands.
After the change of the guards in the state, apple farmers have made fresh pleas to the Sukhu government reminding him of the commitments made to the farmers including ensuring the “market prices of fruit that would be decided by the farmers, not by the arhtityas”.
President of the Progressive Growers Association Lokinder Bisht said state government should strictly implement the APMC Act in the Mandis to give best prices to the farmers on the basis of the quantity of the produce as is the norm everywhere in the markets in the world.
Bisht said that the fruit should be sold as per KG, not as per carton in which the fruit is packed.
He said that unless APMC, the government do not act in this case, farmers would continue to be exploited by the commission agents in the markets.
The farmers demand that the government should formulate the Horticulture development policy for the next 10 years or so as the Apple industry is reeking under huge crisis due to the meteoric rise in cost of production while climate change is impacting the industry as never before.
The farmers demand that APMC, Agriculture, horticulture department, state agriculture market board should come on board to implement the APMC Act in Mandis in the state.
President of Plum Association Deepak Singha reiterated that the farmers hope that new government would consider the charter of demands of the farmers pending over the years.
Farmers resent that they are not get a certified best quality material under the Rs 1143 crore horticulture development project, which is now heading for a close, which is a great pity.