The production of saffron (kesar) has sharply declined in Jammu & Kashmir in the current crop year due to erratic climate pattern. As per the Agriculture Ministry data, saffron output is pegged at 9.12 tonne in 2017-18 crop year (July-June) as against 28.64 tonne in the last year.

From August to October-end, the region got just 10 mm rainfall against an average 100 mm for these months. This has led to damage of crop in Kashmir. Saffron is also cultivated in Himachal Pradesh. Much of the produce is exported.

“The output is expected to go down due to dry spell in critical stage of crop’s growth, the Agriculture Ministry officials said.

The slump has not just come as a shock for the growers, it has also underlined the underperformance of Agriculture Ministry as well as Jammu & Kashmir agriculture department in implementation of the Rs 412-crore National Saffron Mission that was approved by the Centre in 2010 for revival and rejuvenation of the prized crop. Then its aim was to raise production to 5 kg per hectare from 3 kg. Strangely enough, farmers now blame the same mission for declining production.

The production was hit badly in 2014-15 crop year to 8.51 tonne because of floods. The demand for Indian saffron has increased in the global market due to presence of high quality active components like crocine, picrocrocine and safranal.

With the exception of 2015, when the crop was good, droughts or untimely excessive rainfall have repeatedly damaged saffron crops in recent years, farmers say. In 2014, excessive rain in September had damaged the crop. Every farmer would get around 50 tola or 600 grams (one tola equals 12 grams) per kanal (one-eighth of an acre), which has now got reduced to around 150 grams in recent years since 2009.

The State Agriculture department has attributed the decline in saffron production to farmers’ reluctance to use modern but costly cultivation techniques and shifting to high-yielding plant varieties. President, Saffron Growers’ Association, Abdul Majeed Wani, blamed the agriculture department saying they have been demanding for the past 10 years for installation of sprinkle system. “The irrigation system envisaged under the Mission would have solved our problems,” Wani said.

On the other hand, State Agriculture department officials said the “farmers follow a planting cycle of 15 years against a recommended corm (bulb) planting cycle of five years for better yield.

“This long cycle results in corm rot disease in corns, which ultimately causes decline in production,” officials said.

The non-functional irrigation system isn’t the lone problem. The opening of Saffron Park at Pampore in 2016 has been delayed. The department is waiting for communication about a “convenient date” from the Union Ministry for its inauguration.

According to Kashmir’s Agriculture department, saffron land has reduced from 5,700 hectare in 1990s to 3,715 hectare in 2016, while per hectare production has come down to less than 1.88 kg compared with around 6 kg in other parts of the world. Kashmir is an important producer of saffron globally. In fact, apart from Iran and Spain, Pampore has the largest saffron cultivations anywhere in the world. It is the most expensive and precious spice in the world. People associated with saffron farming say if the present State continues then the day is not far when Kashmir will lose its heritage crop.

Courtesy: The Pioneer, Sunday, 01 April 2018 | Rajesh Kumar | New Delhi