Climate Change Hits Kashmir: Floods Ravage Crops and Hopes

Recent floods in Kashmir have revived dire memories of the devastating 2014 floods that caused widespread damage.

Waiting for the crops after a year-long effort, the farmers and apple growers were hopeful that the time to harvest had finally arrived to bring financial independence.

(Photo: Muhammad Mukaram/The Quint)

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Imtiyaz Ahmad, a 45-year-old resident of Patal Bagh in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district, lost his prolonged battle with cancer on 4 September, the same day floods swept away his paddy fields.

As Ahmad was laid to rest at the ancestral graveyard in his hometown, the air was heavy with grief and helplessness.

For his family, it was a double whammy: to lose a beloved member and witness the damage inflicted on their crops by the recent floods that raved Jammu and Kashmir among other regions in North India.

The crop spread over about 15 kanals (1.87 acres) of paddy fields has been their source of livelihood for many years now. Locals recalled that despite his illness, Ahmed never gave up hope and believed this season’s paddy crop would yield well, helping ease many of his family’s struggles. He had planned to sell the harvest this year to feed them.

But fate had something else in store for him.

The crop is gone, and so are the hopes of survival for his family.

'All Our Hard Work Disappeared Before Our Eyes'

Contrary to the popular belief that tourism is the backbone of Kashmir’s economy, it is agriculture that serves as the true mainstay, with nearly 70 percent of the population directly or indirectly dependent on it.

In Kashmir, farmers cultivate paddy on nearly 1.3 lakh hectares of land. In Pulwama, known as the ‘rice bowl’ of the valley, at least 16,000 hectares of farmland is cultivated for paddy.

Villages such as Khadermoh, Kandizal, Patal, Hatwari, Rakh Shalni, Tengan, Pohru, Chokpura, and adjacent areas in South Kashmir are also heavily depend on paddy cultivation.

On the other hand, Shopian, another South Kashmir district, has earned distinction for growing high density and delicious apples.

The recent floods, however, have severely hit Kashmir’s agricultural and horticultural sectors.

The Quint travelled across four southern districts of Kashmir—Pulwama, Shopian, Anantnag, and Kulgam—to assess the damage inflicted on agriculture and horticulture by the recent floods and excessive rains.

Pointing to his vast chunk of land, Ghulam Ahmad, a 77-year-old farmer from Khadermuh in Pampore (Pulwama district), says that it was too painful for him to witness such destruction caused by the floods.

“See, this is my land. This is my crop. But my hard work for the entire year has vanished. Nothing is left," Ahmad tells The Quint.

(Photo: Muhammad Mukaram/The Quint)

Mehraj Wani, aged 35, sitting near the Srinagar-Jammu highway (NH-44) under a temporary shelter, tells The Quint how the floods have devastated his area, leaving thousands of acres of paddy fields damaged.

“I own 26 kanals (3.25 acres) of paddy land. It is the primary source of income for my family. Now, everything has been wiped out by the floods. I’m watching all my efforts disappear before my eyes,” he says, his voice filled with despair.

In May and June, a prolonged dry spell left farmers and apple growers across Kashmir anxious as rainfall remained scarce. Just weeks earlier, in April, they had already struggled with a lack of irrigation.

After a year of toil, farmers and apple growers looked to the harvest season for financial relief.

Instead, unseasonal heavy rains have upended their hopes.

In Shopian, apple orchardist Abdul Ahad Mir said the rains drowned not only his orchard, but also his hopes. “In my lifetime, I have never witnessed devastation of this scale. Not even during the 2014 floods,” he recalled. This year, Mir had expected to harvest apples worth Rs 20 lakh from his 32 kanals of land, but all of it now lies in ruins.

September was meant to bring joy to his family, with his two daughters set to marry and the family counting on a bumper crop to meet expenses. “This flood has snatched away my happiness,” Mir said with a heavy sigh.

'High-Density Apples The Worst Hit'

Experts say that a high-density system of farming has revolutionised apple cultivation in the region for the past many years by enhancing both productivity and profitability. For instance, earlier 1-2 kanals of land would fetch between Rs 1-1.5 lakh to a farmer through conventional farming, but the high-density orchard generates the produce worth Rs 3-4 lakh on the same chunk of orchard.

However, orchardists in Shopian said their high-density apple varieties were among the worst hit by the floods.

Muhammad Shafi Wani, an orchardist from Wadipora in Shopian, owns two acres (16 kanals) of apple orchards. This year, he had expected at least 3,000 boxes of apples, worth around Rs 35 lakh. Instead, he has been left devastated.

“I feel helpless. Our fruit is ready, but much of it has fallen from the trees, and once it touches the ground its value diminishes. I don’t know where to take this produce now.”

Muhammad Shafi Wani

The Srinagar-Jammu highway remained closed for nine consecutive days during the first spell of rains and another six days during the latest one.

These high-density apples, growers explained, have a very short shelf life and cannot last more than a fortnight.

After being closed for 15 days, the highway has now been partially restored and trains are ferrying apples onwards. But with the route shut for nearly two weeks, much of the produce has already begun to rot.

Akhtar Malik, associated with the Delhi-based economic think tank Trade and Logistics Expert-BRIEF Private Limited, argues that for thousands of farmers, it is not merely a loss of output but also a direct blow to their annual consumption needs.

“The impact is even more severe with winter approaching when economic activity slows down and rural households rely on stored supplies and limited opportunities for daily labour.”

Akhtar Malik

He says that the blow to the horticultural sector is far more significant in macroeconomic terms.

“The sector contributes nearly 8-10 percent of J&K’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and sustains the livelihoods of around 35,000,00 people,” Malik adds.

(Photo: Muhammad Mukaram/The Quint)

No Insurance for Kashmir’s Apple Growers

The devastation of apple orchards in Kashmir has also sparked concern among political leaders. Aijaz Mir, former MLA from the Wachi constituency and a young PDP leader from Shopian, criticised the Omar Abdullah-led government for its “abject failure to offer any solution or help to apple growers at such a critical juncture.”

“With the closure of Srinagar-Jammu highway and the fruit-laden trucks not being allowed to ply on the Mughal Road, the situation has turned extremely grim for our fruit growers. Apple businessmen have stopped purchasing apples directly from orchardists. Those buying are offering rates that are nearly 60 percent lower than the usual.”

Aijaz Mir to The Quint

On the ground, orchardists are equally frustrated. GH Naikoo, from the Pinglana area of Pulwama, told The Quint that the government “must urgently consider starting goods and services trains” to transport apples to markets across India.

“This is the peak harvesting season. Kullu Delicious, another variety, has already ripened. But with the highway facing frequent closures, traders and middlemen are refusing to offer us fair prices,” Naikoo said.

Industry representatives warn that the situation is already dire.

Bashir Ahmad Bashir, President of the Fruit Growers Association Kashmir, estimated that apple growers have suffered losses worth nearly Rs 500 crore due to the crisis—figures that could rise if disruptions continue.

While the Mughal Road through Shopian offers an alternative connection between Kashmir and the Pir Panjal districts of Rajouri, Poonch, and Surankote, its poor condition means it can currently handle only light vehicles.

Kashmir’s horticulture sector generates an annual revenue of about Rs 15,000 crore. Yet, orchardists point out that apples remain excluded from the government’s crop insurance scheme, leaving farmers unprotected against mounting losses.

When asked about this, Javed Dar, Minister for Agriculture and Horticulture, told The Quint that the government is working on addressing this gap.

“I am very keen on the implementation of a crop insurance scheme for apple growers. Our government is concerned about it, and we are working on a proposal,” he said.

“We had requested the Railway Department to transport our produce via trains but the department informed us about the damage suffered to the railway tracks at multiple places.”

Bashir Ahmad Bashir

According to his moderate estimates, the losses could go further up if the present crises remain unresolved. His worries are not unfounded, though.

Around 1,200-1,500 trucks loaded with fruits remain stranded on the highway at Qazigund (in South Kashmir's Kulgam district). The Srinagar-Jammu highway is a major route that connects Kashmir to the rest of India, but it has remained shut for nearly two weeks now. Many supplies have started to rot on the road.

The Mughal Road, which connects Kashmir with Pir Panchal (Rajouri, Poonch and Surankote) through Shopian, is an alternative route for traffic. However, due to the dilapidated condition of the road, it has been thrown open only for light motor vehicles, for now.

Annually, Kashmir’s horticultural industry fetches Rs 15,000 Crore. Sadly, the orchardists say, the apple crop is being left out of the insurance scheme.

“I am very keen on the implementation of the crop insurance scheme for apple growers. Our government is concerned about it, and we are working on a proposal," Javed Dar told The Quint.

(Muhammad Mukaram is a Kashmir-based journalist.)