Chandigarh: Jagdish Khimta, an apple grower from Jubbal in Shimla district, did not fetch more than Rs 60-62 per kg by selling his produce to the Adani Group.He told The Wire that his earning was way less than his expectations this season.“Growers have to take care of the apple crop like their child throughout the year. It is painful how market players are devaluing our effort by offering far low procurement rates. Sadly, there is no intervention from the state government either,” said Khimta.Rising input costs and depleting incomes have led to discontentment among apple growers over the last few years. In addition, the hike in the goods and services tax (GST) on packaging material coupled with rising inflation has further aggravated the situation.The price of the apple crop has also dropped in the open market for various reasons. Firstly, the apple production in Himachal Pradesh this year was higher than last year. Therefore, market players and mandi traders offered lower rates to growers.Second, this year’s brutal heatwave led to bad quality of the crop such as an increase in discolouration content and stunting of the apple. Red skin colouration and size of the apple are highly associated with better returns for the growers.Also read: After Brutal Heatwave, Himachal’s Apple Farmers Say Over 30% Of Crop DamagedAs soon as procurement season began in July last week, the growers staged protests against the hiked GST on packaging materials and other challenges the apple industry is facing.Growers gheraoed Adani storesAfter protesting against the state government, apple growers have now given an ultimatum to Adani AgroFresh – one of the Adani Group’s branches involved in apple procurement in Himachal – to revise its rates for procuring the fruits.Under the banner of Sanyukt Kisan Manch (SKM), they gheored all three procurement centres of the Adani Group at Rohru, Rewali and Sainj in Shimla district on August 25, Thursday. The growers said they were agitated over Adani Group offering them lower procurement rates this season.They have demanded the company to immediately increase its procurement prices by at least 30% over Rs 76 per kg for premium quality apples.Currently, Adani AgroFresh’s rates vary from Rs 15 per kg for C grade quality apples to Rs 76 per kg for top quality apples, which according to the growers fetches the company not less than Rs 250-300 per kg in off season.Apart from that, they have also demanded that the produce should be weighed in front of the growers and their representatives when the colour sensors are calibrated.Apple growers protest outside Adani procurement centre in Rohru, Himachal Pradesh, on August 22, 2022. Photo: author providedIn response to The Wire’s query on the growers’ protest, Adani AgroFresh spokesperson said in an email that it finalises its offer rates after “local mandis set their procurement prices,” which the company “further discusses with the farmers” at their joint meetings.The spokesperson also claimed that their procurement prices are attractive, adding: “We also offer apple crates to growers to carry their produce for retaining quality, transparent sorting, prompt payment terms and fertilisers and hail nets at low cost among other extension services.”He further said that the company’s procurement has been very good so far this season. In just 10 days, it has already procured 7,500 tonnes of apples against a target of 25,000 tonnes.Speaking with The Wire, SKM convener Harish Chauhan said that Adani Group stores may not be procuring more than 25,000 tonnes out of a total crop output of 6 lakh tonnes. But the problem is that their procurement rates set the benchmark and influence the open market every year.“This year was no different. As soon as it announced the procurement rates, there was a slump [in prices] in the market,” he said.In 2020, Adani offered Rs 88 per kg for premium quality apples. However, two years later, they are offering Rs 76 per kg for the premium quality apples. Instead, it should be somewhere between Rs 90-100 per kg if one takes into account the spiralling input cost, he said.“How is this justifiable when the growers’ input cost has increased so much but Adani’s procurement rates have gone down,” he asked.Apple growers and government at loggerheadsEarlier this month, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government had formed a committee under the chairmanship of vice-chancellor of Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan, to fix the apple procurement prices.However, the first meeting of the committee, which was held on August 24 in Shimla, ended on a sour note.During the course of the meeting, SKM members had asked the government to produce a copy of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with big companies like Adani Group, which were given subsidies worth crores to set up their procurement centres in Himachal Pradesh.However, officials present during the meeting said they were unaware of any such MoUs signed between the government and these companies, SKM said in its press release.SKM’s Chauhan said that they wanted to find out under what terms and conditions these big companies were allotted subsidised lands and other facilities to set up procurement centres in the state.He added that if the whole idea behind subsidies is strictly the welfare of the apple growers, then both the state and the companies have failed in providing it.However, as per the state government, the meeting was successful in addressing the concerns of the growers.After the meeting, the chairman of the committee, Rajeshwar Chandel, told the media that all the private procurement stores were issued directions to revise their colour classification of apples.Currently, these stores have three categories for colour classification: 80-100% (grade A premium quality), 60-80% (grade B) and below 60% (grade C).“We have asked these stores to revise the colour classification to 70-100%, 50-70% and up to 50%. The proposed classification will push apples into a higher colour category, fetching a better price,” he added.The Wire spoke to some growers who said that the Adani Group, in the meeting, had assured some rate correction and change in colour classification as well.Also read: In Poll-Bound Himachal, Disgruntled Apple Growers May Be a Stumbling Block for BJPPolitical impactThe apple growers’ protests in Himachal Pradesh have come ahead of the assembly elections in November.Ramesh Chauhan, a political commentator and professor of political science at Shimla University, told The Wire that apple growers have a considerable influence in as many as 19-20 assembly constituencies in Shimla, Solan, Kullu and Kinnaur districts. This means that in a small state like Himachal Pradesh, where the total number of assembly seats are not more than 68, they form a strong clout.“They may influence the outcome of the coming election if their protest continues,”he said.He also added that protests by growers amid the 1989 and 1993 elections played an important role in defeating the party in power.
