Why crop insurance has failed Kashmir’s fruit economy

Bhat’s family has tended these orchards for nearly 80 years. Each season, he weighs the risks—hailstorms in June and July, sudden heatwaves, snowless winters against the rising costs of pesticides, labour and irrigation. This year, a hailstorm wiped out nearly half the crop. In 2020 and 2021, early snowfall snapped decades-old, fruit-laden trees. “The relief we received was ₹1,000,” says the 48-year-old. “It barely covered anything.”