Uttarakhand's First Apple Policy Proposal Ready

• 07 Aug 2023

Why in News?

On August 6, 2023, Agriculture and Horticulture Minister Ganesh Joshi informed that the proposal for the first apple policy has been prepared to promote apple production & marketing in the state.

Key Points:

• In this policy, the government will encourage farmers to plant new apple orchards in five thousand hectare areas. Farmers can prepare apple orchards on 0.2 to 20 hectares of land.
• Agriculture and Horticulture Minister Ganesh Joshi said that suggestions will also be taken from the farmers of the state on this policy. Which will be included in the policy. Only after this the proposal of the policy will be placed in the cabinet.
• It is known that except for Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar districts, apples are produced in the hilly areas of remaining 11 districts, but till now Uttarakhand, Himachal and Jammu & Kashmir are lagging behind in apple production.
• Uttarkashi is the leader in apple production in the state. About 62 thousand metric tonnes of apples are produced in a total area of 25785 hectares.
• For the first time, the emphasis is on increasing the production of the state government by implementing the apple policy. Farmers who have less land will also be encouraged to cultivate apples.
• Under the policy, the government will provide apple trees of advanced varieties for planting apple orchards from 0.2 hectare to 20 hectare. Apart from this, companies will be encouraged to provide apple saplings and technical know-how.