The Kashmir Pulse

NEW DELHI — The Centre on Tuesday said that the production of saffron has declined by over 67 per cent from 2010 to 2024, however, the production has increased marginally by 4 per cent in the last year.

Replying to a question raised by National Conference MP Hasnain Masoodi in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Arjun Munda, as per the news agency KNS, said that as per the estimates provided by the Office of Financial Commissioner (Revenue), UT of Jammu & Kashmir, the production of saffron in Jammu and Kashmir has decreased from 8.0 MT in 2010-11 to 2.6 MT in 2023-24 (provisional), resulting in an overall decline in production by about 67.5% over the period.

"However, during the last one year from 2022-23 to 2023-24, the saffron production has marginally increased by 4%," he said.

He also said that as per the information received from the Planning and Agriculture Production Department of J&K, out of the 128 deep bore wells sanctioned under the Mission, 123 have been constructed by the Horticulture Department and handed over to the Mechanical Engineering Department, Kashmir for their harnessing and further linkage with the Sprinkler Irrigation Systems.

"The Mechanical Engineering Department, Kashmir has successfully connected 73 deep bore wells with the Sprinkler Irrigation Systems having a command of 2187.08 hectares. However, the irrigation facilities are not being utilized fully as the User Groups for management and upkeep of these bore wells have not been created as per the Mission Guidelines and have not been handed over to the farmer user groups," he added.

The minister also said that as per the information received from the Planning, Agriculture Production Department of J&K, there has been no report of adverse effects on saffron flowers due to factors such as cement dust from any industrial establishments.

"The Agriculture Production Department along with the revenue authorities, UT of J&K are implementing the Saffron Act, saffron rules and other revenue laws which safeguard the saffron land from being diverted for any other purposes," he added.

He further said that no high-level committee has been constituted by the Government of India to look into the declining condition of saffron production.

"However, the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India has requested the UT Administration to conduct a detailed review of all the activities taken up under the National Saffron Mission in J&K to ensure the effective utilization of infrastructure and facilities created under the National Saffron Mission for the overall development of saffron sector in Jammu & Kashmir," he stated.

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SRINAGAR — Pampore, which is known as the saffron town, is witnessing an uptick in constructions in saffron fields, causing a decline in saffron production as well as shrinking land for the prized spice.

Locals from Pampore told the news agency KNO that land under saffron is shrinking because of residential and commercial complexes coming up in saffron fields. For this reason, many growers have switched to other crops in the absence of facilities and the government’s non-seriousness towards the promotion of saffron.

Locals said that the much-hyped National Saffron Mission has not yielded results as the authorities were unable to make water pumps functional meant for irrigating the fields in the dry season.

Chairman of Saffron Growers Association Kashmir, Abdul Majeed Wani told KNO that the Manmohan Singh-led government released over 400 crores under National Saffron Mission so as to provide better facilities to growers. "However, the mission could not achieve its target as the irrigation system remained incomplete," he said. This, according to him, prompted many to switch to other crops.

Wani said that since 2014, most of the growers have lost interest in saffron and the last three years have seen a decline in production. Saffron production has decreased from 16.45 metric tonnes to 0.02 metric tonnes in the last five years in Kashmir, according to official data.

He also highlighted the conversion of saffron fields, saying people are constructing complexes and houses amid the ban.

He appealed to the government to come up with a seed nursery so that growers can get seeds there to continue growing saffron.

This post first appeared on The Kashmir Pulse