The Kashmir valley has turned from the fruit bowl of India to a leading vegetable producer for the subcontinent, according to The Indian Express.
The volume of Kashmir’s vegetables heading for the rest of India is tipped to hit 150,000 tonnes this year as farmers move from fruits to more profitable vegetables.
Production has increased by 500 per cent over the last five years, and now 27,000ha of land is under vegetable cultivation. The revenue from the produce has risen from US$4.7m in 2003 to around US$470m this year.
The Indian agriculture department has been providing assistance to the booming vegetable industry in Kashmir. The department said it had been giving growers seeds, subsidised greenhouses and other materials.
The move to vegetables has been driven by their increasing profitability in India, and growers say the industry could employ up to 100,000 families over the next decade.
