Saffron On The Edge: Pampore Growers Report 90% Decline

Kashmir’s famed saffron sector is once again in crisis, with growers in Pampore — known as the “Saffron Bowl of Kashmir” — warning that this year's yield has fallen by nearly 90 percent, pushing thousands of families into distress.

- Observer News Service

Farmers say production this season is barely 10-15 percent of normal levels, with many fields yielding little to nothing. They fear that if immediate measures aren't taken, the centuries-old crop that defines Kashmir’s cultural and economic identity may soon disappear.

“This year the corms haven't sprouted properly at all," said Abdul Majeed Wani, President of the Saffron Growers Association J&K. “Production is hardly 15 percent. It isn't even half of last year’s crop, which itself was only about 30 percent of the normal harvest. Every year it is decreasing, and the government doesn’t seem serious about safeguarding this sector.”