Srinagar, May 2 -- In the apple orchards of Shopian, where mountain air smells of blossoms and earth, something small but powerful is at work. Earthworms, quietly burrowing through cow dung and kitchen waste, are reviving tired soil and restoring hope to Kashmir's farmers. But as this organic revolution gathers momentum, it's being quietly undercut by fake compost disguised as the real thing.

Like much of India, Kashmir's soil has suffered under decades of chemical farming. The Green Revolution promised abundance, but over time, synthetic fertilizers drained the land of life. Fields hardened. Yields plateaued. Costs soared. In recent years, desperate for alternatives, farmers turned to a simple, ancient practice: vermicomposting.

It wor...