<p>Jammu and Kashmir have always been known for their Tourism and Horticulture sectors. To boost apple production, the Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ministry have approved an “Apple Cluster” for the Shopian district, Jammu and Kashmir under the Cluster Development Programme. </p>.<p>The Apple cluster envisages the development of Shopian apple on three verticals including pre-production-production, post-harvest management, and value addition and logistics, marketing, and branding to make it globally competitive. </p>.<p>The project is estimated to cost Rs 135.23 crore, of which, about Rs 37.05 crore would be provided by the Ministry as grant-in-aid. The project is expected to be implemented in four years. Apple growers of Shopian hail this step taken by the Centre.</p>