In Kashmir’s sprawling apple orchards, where growers long battled post-harvest losses, a government scheme launched in 2017 is slowly reshaping the fruit economy.

The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY), a flagship initiative of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), has emerged as a key support system for farmers, helping them store, process and market their produce more efficiently.

Designed to modernise India’s food processing infrastructure, PMKSY links farms with retail markets through a chain of cold storage, preservation and value-addition facilities.

Official data show that 16 cold storages, with a combined capacity of nearly 200,000 tonnes a year, have been approved in Jammu and Kashmir since inception of the scheme.

Although standalone cold storages are n

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