Srinagar, June 12 -- The promise of crop insurance for Kashmir's orchardists arrives against a backdrop of repeated devastation, yet the cautious reception from growers reflects a long history of unmet assurances. Apple cultivation, the backbone of the Valley's horticulture economy, has been battered by increasingly erratic weather-hailstorms, thunderstorms, and untimely rains that strike during flowering or fruiting, wiping out months of labour and investment in a matter of minutes. Farmers who spend heavily on sprays and fertilisers, often through credit, find themselves trapped in cycles of debt when nature turns hostile. Inflation compounds the burden, raising input costs even as market returns falter under damaged yields.

The propos...