Srinagar, July 13: Member of Parliament from Anantnag-Rajouri, Mian Altaf Ahmad, has called for large-scale inspection of pesticides and fertilisers entering Jammu and Kashmir through the Lakhanpur entry point, demanding stringent action against those found supplying spurious agricultural inputs.
Speaking to Kashmir Convener, the MP said the issue has persisted for decades and continues to inflict heavy losses on farmers, particularly apple growers in the Valley.
“The government must ensure that the medicines coming from Lakhanpur for the Kashmir Valley are thoroughly checked on a large scale, and the culprits should be given strict punishment. I have been seeing this for the last 25 years, but neither is there any solution nor does anyone get punished. The growers suffer losses. This is a high-priority issue,” Mian Altaf said.
He stressed that comprehensive quality checks at Lakhanpur—the sole land entry point into Jammu and Kashmir—are essential to prevent the circulation of substandard pesticides and fertilisers that adversely affect crop productivity.
“Pesticides and fertilisers entering through Lakhanpur should be checked on a large scale. The guilty must be punished. It is the grower who suffers,” he added.
The demand comes amid mounting complaints from apple growers across the Valley, who allege that the use of duplicate pesticides and fertilisers has damaged orchards, triggered disease outbreaks and caused premature fruit drop.
“We have all duplicate fertilisers. Ten years ago we used similar kinds of pesticides, but there was no such problem. Today, when we spray the same pesticides, our trees are suffering from various diseases. Apples are falling before they have grown. This is because of the duplicate fertilisers,” said Mudasir Dar, an apple grower.
Pesticide and fertiliser dealers, however, denied knowledge of any adulteration. “Farmers buy fertilisers and pesticides every year, but everyone complains that they are of no use. We receive them from wholesalers and sell them,” said dealer Mohammad Ashraf.
Officials in the Horticulture Department said pesticide and fertiliser samples are collected regularly for laboratory testing. A senior departmental official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said action is initiated under the Insecticides Act whenever samples fail quality tests, although legal proceedings often take time.
“Regular sampling is being done and samples are sent to laboratories for quality analysis. If any sample fails the test, action is initiated under the Insecticides Act. However, the legal process is time-consuming,” the official said.
Kashmir’s apple industry, the backbone of the Valley’s horticulture economy, has been grappling with erratic weather, pest attacks and increasing concerns over the quality of agricultural inputs. Farmers have repeatedly urged authorities to tighten monitoring of pesticides and fertilisers entering the Union Territory through Lakhanpur to safeguard orchard productivity and livelihoods.
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