Despite unending hardships that Kashmiri farmers have faced in the last few years, Jammu Kashmir ranks fourth after Meghalaya, Punjab, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh in the country in average monthly income per agricultural household.
This fact came to light in data provided by Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar in the ongoing session of Rajya Sabha, IANS reported.
Pertinently, paddy farmers from the Kashmir valley faced a drought in several regions due to the dry spell during summer. The orchardists suffer major set backs one after the other including the untimely snowfall, reduced fruit rates and blocking of fruit laden trucks on the highway for several years.
As per the information by the GoI minister, Punjab (Rs 26,701) is followed by Haryana (Rs 22,841), Arunachal Pradesh (Rs 19,225), Jammu Kashmir (Rs 18,918), group of Union Territories (Rs 18,511), Mizoram (Rs 17,964), Kerala (Rs 17,915), group of northeastern states (Rs 16,863), Uttarakhand (Rs 13,552), Karnataka (Rs 13,441), Gujarat (Rs 12,631), Rajasthan (Rs 12,520), Sikkim (Rs 12,447) and Himachal Pradesh (Rs 12,153).
Responding to the reply, Arora told the media, “If we consider states dependent the maximum on cash crops, Punjab would rank first with Meghalaya having major share of horticulture and fruits.”
The prominent crops in Kashmir include rice, walnuts among several others.
Apple farming provides livelihood to over 45 lakh people in Kashmir, it contributes to about 75 per cent of the total apple production in the country. Kashmir produces around 2 million metric tonnes of apple every year, with its apple industry estimated to be worth Rs 10,000 crore.
Official figures that every year, about 2.66 lakh metric tons of walnuts are cultivated in and Kashmir on a land area of 89,000 hectares. More than 98% of the total walnuts cultivated in India, come from J&K.