SRINAGAR: In the high-altitude villages above Srinagar Dara, Harwan, and Shalimar cherry orchards have long been more than a source of income. For generations, families have passed down the art of cherry cultivation, treating it as both livelihood and legacy. But climate change is sounding the death knell of cherry farming.
Jeelani Bhat, a cherry farmer with 15 years of experience, has seen that shift firsthand. “In the past two years, I harvested 550 to 600 boxes when cherry farming was thriving,” he recalled. However, this year is markedly different.
Bhat’s story is echoed by many others across the valley. “Our target for this year is only 350 to 400 boxes, and the price is at the lowest - around Rs 60 per kilogram,” he said. The erratic weather due to climate change has led to significant losses for all of us.
Cherries are highly sensitive to timing. They bloom early in March or April coinciding with Kashmir’s increasingly erratic spring weather. This year, relentless rain and unexpected hailstorms have damaged much of the crop.
“Cherries require timely watering, but the harsh weather and rains have left visible stains on the fruit,” Bhat explained. “It’s heartbreaking to see.”
Once, Bhat’s orchards grew an array of variety of cherries - Mishri, Double, Italian, Makhmali, Australian, and Sweet Black. Now, only Mishri remains. “We’ve abandoned the imported varieties from Italy and Australia.
Mishri, native to Kashmir, is the only one resilient enough to survive here now,” he explains.
Cherry Production & Disrupting Graph
Kashmir's cherry production has fluctuated around 12,000 metric tonnes in recent years, but there have been significant disruptions in recent years. In 2023, farmers experienced a devastating 75% reduction in production according to industry associations.
In 2023, heavy rainfall during the critical harvest period caused widespread crop failure. Weather disruptions create cascading effects beyond just production losses. In 2023, both cherry and strawberry crops failed to reach markets, and cold weather conditions reduced consumer demand for fresh fruits, compounding the economic impact on farmers.
In 2024, the weather vagaries again impacted the cherry production and farmers said that the yield declined by 30 percent.
This year, farmers are again worried that the production may be less than half of what it normally is.
Can’t Cover Cost of Production
Saddam Khan, another farmer, has suffered similarly. “This year, we are facing substantial losses; the income generated doesn't even cover labour wages,” he said. I have to pay the workers from my own pocket.
The cause, again, is the weather. “Heavy rains, strong winds, and hailstorms have ruined the cherries,” Khan said. They taste different now - sour - and are stained. The market is immediately impacted with less demand, and buyers are paying just Rs 50 to 60 per box instead of the regular price of Rs 130 a box.
Mohd Younis, who once ran a vibrant cherry operation, now struggles to make ends meet. “Till about 2021, I had more than 20 people working for me. After 2021, the number of workers have consistently declined due to massive climate fluctuations in recent years,” he says.
“Earlier, by this this time, the workers would have harvested around 700 boxes. But, now with just a few workers, I can barely manage to collect 300 boxes, and much of the remaining fruit has rotted on the plants,” he said.
The financial toll is immense. “Breaking even on my investment is now a distant dream,” Younis said. I’m transporting two of my varieties - Makhmali and Awal, two hybrid varieties that need balanced weather climate as they cannot bear low temperature in budding stage, - to Bangalore in the hope of salvaging something.”
Younis owns four kanals of cherry land. Now, he’s thinking of selling half. “I can’t afford to keep bearing these losses,” he said with resignation.
Further up the slope, Umer Azam owns 26 cherry farms spread across Nishat and Dara. He’s watched in disbelief as yields have declined. “I’m shocked by the contrast between past years and now,” he said.
It’s distressing. I employ 65 labourers across my farms, and I’m paying them from my own savings because cherry prices have plummeted.
Azam had hoped for a harvest of 10,000 boxes this season. Instead, he’s managing just 4,000 to 5,000, repeating a pattern from the last three years.
“The main culprit is climate change,” he said. I’ve asked the agricultural department for support protective nets, better pesticides but nothing has really worked.”
He also blames the broader instability in the region. “The recent attack in Pahalgam hit us hard,” he said. Tourism usually boosts sales, we sell cherries to hotels, local vendors, and tourist shops. But now, with tourists staying away, I’m forced to sell to locals at Rs 80 per box.
Climate Change Disruptions
Dr Auroosa Khalil, Assistant Professor at SKUAST Kashmir’s Fruit Science Department, confirms the farmers’ worst fears. “Cherries require a very high chilling requirement to flower and fruit properly,” she explained. But due to climate change, they’re not getting those chilling hours anymore.
According to Dr Khalil, Kashmir’s climate once made it uniquely suitable for temperate fruits apples, peaches, grapes, pears, and especially cherries.
But now, temperatures are rising earlier than they should. “Trees are blooming before the right climatic conditions are in place,” she said. This leads to poor fruit setting. Rains during bloom can wash away protective fluids on the flowers, damaging them before fruit can form, she explains.
The signs are everywhere: shrinking yields, damaged fruit, abandoned varieties, and farmers driven to debt. Unpaid loans and lack of insurances are now compelling some to sell off their lands.
In a place where cherries were once a symbol of spring and resilience, they are now a measure of how quickly the climate is shifting.
As Jeelani Bhat and others brace for another unpredictable year, the future of Kashmir’s cherry tradition hangs in the balance. Bruised fruit, empty boxes, and the fading hope of the people who once relied on them narrates a tragic story of climate change impacting farming.
Across the region, the consequences ripple far beyond the orchards to fruit mandis where the dwindling demand due to poor production brings down the prices.
Abdul Rasheed, General Secretary of the Traders Union, Handwara says there is a decline in cherry production. “Earlier, we received cherries in bulk and there were brisk sales. Now there is lesser yield and still they remain unsold on the shelves in our shops,” he adds, pointing to impact of not just less but low-quality produce.
With fewer cherries making it to markets, transporters, packaging workers, and local sellers are also suffering. The entire value chain is under stress, he told the Kashmir Times.
Further elaborating on the shift from the cherry bloom to low yields, he says, “during the season, it fetched good returns. Even the vegetable vendors and sometimes farmers themselves would directly sell it.”
In striking contrast now, some cherry farmers are shifting to alternative crops. Ghulam Mohammad, from Dara Shalimar, is now farming strawberries, peas and other vegetables.
Even as many other farmers are still clinging to cherry farming in hope, the truth is gradually sinking in: - without intervention and innovation, cherry farming in Kashmir may not survive another decade.
The crisis demands attention not just from local authorities but from policymakers and climate experts worldwide, say the distressed cherry farmers.
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