Walnuts form an essential part of people’s lives in Kashmir as it is the main contributor to India’s walnut production. Each year, walnuts are exported to various parts of the country. Locally in Kashmir, called Dooyn, the trade of walnuts contributes considerably to the local economy. During the ongoing harvest season, the owners and workers of the walnut farms in Kashmir can be seen climbing trees and processing the produce.
Kashmir accounts for 80% of India’s walnut production. The Kashmiri walnut was a great source of nutrients and was in high demand throughout India due to its superior quality and taste. There is immense potential for this product to find its place in the local and global markets. But nowadays, it is very unfortunate that the department of horticulture is not giving much attention to walnuts because of which they will be left behind. Walnuts from the Valley are exported not only to other states but also to the whole world. About 2.66 lakh metric tonnes of walnuts are grown in Jammu and Kashmir in an area spanning 89,000 hectares every year.
Walnuts in Jammu and Kashmir produce more than 98 percent of all walnuts grown in India. Walnuts in Kashmir are grown organically, which means no chemical sprays or fertilisers are used in their cultivation. Kashmiri walnuts are popular across India and are exported to the UK, the Netherlands, and France, among many other countries. While the sales of Kashmiri walnuts declined after the COVID-19 pandemic, they are now slowly regaining their glory.
Walnut trees are found in the north and south of the Kashmir Valley. Removing walnuts from the trees is not something everyone can do. Only a skilled worker can perform the task. The trained person sits on a strong branch of a tree with a long stick. The worker then strikes the rest of the branches with force, causing the walnuts on them to fall down. The amount of walnuts exported from Kashmir in the years 2021-22 was 2.67 lakh metric tons. In 2020-21, 2.58 lakh were exported, 2.26 in 2019–20, 2.78 in 2018–19, and 2.75 in 2017–18.
India ranks eighth among the walnut-producing countries in the world. 90% of the total production comes from Kashmir, which is around 2.75 lakh metric tons. In total, 89,000 hectares of land in the Kashmir valley are used for walnut cultivation.
This photo essay is about Walnut harvesting in the Kashmir valley and all the photographs in this essay are taken by Aasif Shafi for The Chenab Times.
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Aasif Shafi is multimedia journalist based In Kashmir.
