Apple growers in Jammu and Kashmir who suffered heavy losses due to the recent snowfall should be compensated by the Centre, the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) demanded in a statement on Wednesday. It said the scale of relief announced by the State — 36,000 per hectare — was grossly inadequate for crops such as apple.

According to the farmers’ organisation, heavy snowfall affected not only apples, but also apricot, cherry, walnut and almond.There is no effective market intervention schemes to help farmers, AIKS said, and demanded that a Central team visit the State to assess the damage. It said that the early snowfall has not only affected the returns this year, but is bound to affect the returns from horticulture crops for years to come.

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