Kashmir's Agricultural Emergency

Kashmir is witnessing an alarming loss of farmland, raising red flags over looming food insecurity and the region's accelerating shift toward industrial and urban expansion.

- Dr. Ashraf Zainabi

and is the foundation of life. It feeds us, shelters us, sustains our economies, and forms the very identity of a place. But in Kashmir, land is under siege. Not by foreign powers or natural disasters, but by the greed and shortsightedness of its own people and policymakers.

The lush fields that once grew saffron, paddy, and almonds are being swallowed by an unchecked industrial explosion, urban sprawl, and infrastructure projects.

Kashmir’s total agricultural land has shrunk from 467,700 hectares in 2015 to just 389,000 hectares today. That’s a staggering loss of land in the last 10 years alone—of nearly 78,700 hectares (17%)—that could have fed generations. Given this land conversion trend, Kashmir may witness 50% agricultural land loss by 2050. And by the time, the population may see a 20% increase. As already reported, the average land-holding per household in Kashmir stands at less than 4 kanals. It may go below 2 kanals by 20250. And it is not hard to imagine the consequences.