‘Dry weather takes toll on Saffron produce; farmers demand modern irrigation facilities to meet challenges’
TDD Special Correspondent
Srinagar,(TDD): Come October 25 and Kashmir’s saffron growers would throng to their fields to pluck the priced saffron flowers. This time, however, the situation is different from what it used to be in the past. Dry weather resulting in the shortage of moisture in the saffron fields has hit the saffron produce this season leaving farmers worried.
The continuous dry spell in the past months in Kashmir is seen as the major reason for less saffron produce, as per farmers. Saffron growers from Pampore area of Southern district of Pulwama said that they were expecting bumper crops but lack of rainfall hit the produce. “In October, time is ripe for saffron bloom but this year, produce is set to be less compared to past. Major reason is less rainfall,” said saffron growers.
Ghulam Qadir Rather, a grower from Konibal area of saffron town Pampore, told the Diplomat that there was a light spell of rain in September but that was inadequate for the Saffron fields. “In September, there used to be major spells of rain which was the primary source for saffron bloom. Dry conditions prevailed in September and even in October as well. The growth of saffron flowers got badly affected,” Rather said.
He said now that the saffron crop is set to be less than previous years but even if it rains in the coming week, that would still benefit them.
Abdul Gaffar, a veteran saffron grower in Pampore, said that countries like Iran, Spain, Afghanistan witness huge saffron yields every year even if they get less rains. “They have an effective irrigation system which is not available in Pampore,” he said. In Pampore, the Kashmir’s Saffron town, was once known for producing quality saffron as it was bestowed with natural meadows with best suited topography that fits the saffron fields.
However, in the past over a decade, saffron produce has hit badly due to conversion of saffron fields into residential colonies and lack of interest of the younger generation towards cultivating saffron.
In absence of the rain, the growers are demanding proper irrigation facilities for their fields so that they can cope up with the moisture challenges and less rainfall.
“This is bad luck and nothing else. We otherwise used to witness a good amount of rainfall in Autumn which ultimately would lead to huge saffron bloom. That was not the case this year as dry weather prevailed. The overall produce this year is going to be very less compared to past,” said Showkat Ahmed Khanday, a grower. He said that the government has invested crores of rupees to boost saffron production in Pampore, yet the vital drip irrigation facilities remain non-functional.
It may be recalled that Saffron production in Kashmir has shown a significant dip of over 67 per cent from 2010 to 2023. Details available with the Diplomat suggest that saffron production in Jammu and Kashmir has declined from 8.0 metric tons (MT) in 2010-11 to 2.6 MT in 2023-24, marking an overall decrease of approximately 67.5%. However, there was a slight recovery in the last year, with a marginal increase of 4% from 2022-23 to 2023-24.
Figures suggest that in 2013-14, saffron production was 14.01 MT, with a yield of 3.82 quintals per hectare. This fell to 5.57 MT in 2014-15, with a yield of 1.52 quintals per hectare. In 2015-16, production rose to 16.17 MT, yielding 4.41 quintals per hectare, and increased further to 16.45 MT in 2016-17, with a yield of 4.49 quintals per hectare. However, production took a downturn in 2017-18, dropping to 5.20 MT with a yield of 1.42 quintals per hectare. In 2018-19, production slightly increased to 5.65 MT, yielding 1.54 quintals per hectare. By 2019-20, production fell drastically to just 0.02 MT, with a yield of 4.44 quintals per hectare. In the following years, production remained stagnant, with 0.02 MT recorded in both 2020-21 and 2021-22, yielding 4.92 quintals per hectare each year.
The growers associated with the saffron production appealed to the recently elected MLA from Pampore and NC leader Justice (Rtd) Hasnain Masoodi and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to intervene and take steps for making the existing irrigation facility functional. They said that even though irrigation facilities are place but they are defunct and need to be made functional forthwith save the saffron from extinction—(TDD)
