In my village, we have nearly 2500 kanals of Karewa land & until 2010, 95% of it was under almond cultivation.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel
Yes, crop failures were frequent — especially when late March snowfall would often damage the bloom. Diseases/ pests were common, & the trees were seedlings with around 95% hard shell & 5% paper-shell, all by chance. Perhaps our orchards had grown too old Around 2010.
By 2008 to 2014, almost everyone had shifted to apples. Today, except for my own 2-kanal almond orchard, no other villager has almond orchard here. Even we also converted the two kanals karewa land to apples for a year, but the year’s experience on Karewa land convinced me & my father to return back to almonds. (Thankfully, we got great returns for our green almonds this year)
The real reason for decline wasn’t just crop failures or mismanagement — it was the market collapse. I still remember:
In the early 1990s, we would sell hard-shell almonds at ₹40/kg.
By 2010, prices hadn’t even touched ₹100/kg.
Even today, the rates are around ₹150/kg.
Growers would sometimes keep their produce for years because there was no demand. One major blow was the import of Californian almonds with minimal TARIFF, which crushed local markets.
Around 2010, a few buyers from Srinagar purchased large chunks of land belonging to pandiths, dug borewells & made apple cultivation possible — inspiring villagers to follow. Producing quality apples on karewas is always challenging especially if you don’t have your own Borewell.
The story of almonds in my village is a reminder: without fair market support and smart policies, even the richest traditions of cultivation can vanish & become thing of past in no time.
Writer of This Story Is Dr. Tariq Rasool
You Might Also Like:
Watch Dr. Tariq Rasool’s Message to Kashmir’s Apple Orchard Owners: Diseases, Causes
After Three Weeks of Restrictions, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Addresses Congregation at Jama Masjid