Kashmir Startup Helps 15,000 Apple Farmers Boost Harvests

Three friends in Srinagar looked at Kashmir's struggling apple industry and saw something everyone else missed: the problem wasn't bad weather or cheap imports, but thousands of small decisions made without data.

Ehsan Quddusi and his co-founders Izhan and Uzair Javeed launched Orchardly in 2021 to fix something surprisingly simple. Most apple growers in Kashmir were making hundreds of seasonal choices based on tradition, neighbor advice, or shopkeeper suggestions rather than science tailored to their specific plot of land.

The stakes are higher than they sound. Kashmir produces nearly three-quarters of India's apples, about 2.5 million tonnes annually, supporting millions of families. Yet India still imports $400 million worth of apples each year because local quality and productivity lag behind what the orchards could achieve.

Orchardly built what they call an operating system for fruit farming. Growers snap a photo of their trees through the app, answer a few questions, and get personalized guidance on everything from irrigation timing to disease prevention, all based on their exact location, soil conditions, and real-time weather data from 40 micro-weather stations across Kashmir.

The transformation happens in practical ways. Instead of spraying pesticides on a calendar, farmers spray only when data shows it's needed. Nutrition gets matched to actual soil tests rather than generic recommendations. Diseases get caught before they spread.

The company now serves over 15,000 growers managing 13,500 acres and has resolved more than 15,000 farmer queries through the platform. They've collected 2 million orchard data points to make their advice more accurate with every season.

What makes this work is the team itself. Quddusi brings tech expertise while his co-founders come from farming families, ensuring the technology solves real problems rather than imaginary ones. They spent months walking orchards, learning that two plots just hundreds of meters apart can need completely different care based on slope, elevation, and microclimate.

The business model goes beyond software. Orchardly now runs physical stores, operates soil testing labs, provides hands-on agronomy services, and even buys back produce from farmers. The company has been profitable from day one and just won recognition as a top emerging startup at the January 2026 Jammu and Kashmir Startup Awards.

The Ripple Effect

When thousands of small farms get more productive, entire regional economies shift. Better quality apples mean higher prices for growers, less dependence on imports, and more income staying in Kashmir communities. Co-founder Izhan Javeed puts it simply: Kashmir's real competition is itself, not foreign fruit. Beat your own past performance, and you can compete with anyone.

The founders are now seeking growth capital to expand their reach across more of India's temperate fruit regions. For an industry built on patience and seasonal rhythms, data-driven decisions are finally bearing fruit.