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Political unrest apart, a slew of malpractices now threaten this premium spice. Haroon Reshi reports from Srinagar
A couple of weeks ago, Kurt Achin, the South Asia Bureau Chief of Voice of America, was in the Valley for some professional engagements. Before his departure for Delhi, he went to visit the floating market at the renowned Dal Lake in Srinagar in a Shikara (Water Taxi). On the way, the boatman offered him Kashmiri saffron for sale. Kurt purchased some for twenty dollars. Later, at the guest house a waiter informed the journalist that he has been cheated, for the boatman had foisted off fake saffron in the name of one of the most exclusive and expensive spices in the world. In the evening Kurt’s Facebook wall read: “Like a rube, I just spent about 12 bucks on fake saffron. Not the end of the world, but who likes being swindled?”
Early this year, the police held four persons for selling fake saffron to visitors in the Valley. They also recovered thirty five kilograms of saffron-like coloured material in their possession (worth about Rs 10 crore, if it had been original). It was revealed that the tip of corn fiber and the fiber of marigold flower is used to make fake saffron.
Such incidents have brought bad name to Kashmir, where farmers have been cultivating the world’s best quality saffron for the last thousand years. “This is unfortunate that some miscreants are defaming and ruining our industry which is already losing ground due to several other reasons,” Abdul Majid Wani, General Secretary, Saffron Growers Association told TSI. “Now our association has decided to open sales counters at every tourist spot in the Valley, so that visitors can buy pure and guaranteed saffron without being cheated,” Wani added.
Apart from the sale of fake saffron in and outside the state, drought, pollution and official corruption are other major threats to this Rs 400 crore domestic industry. Official figures prove that the production of saffron is reducing by the year owing to decline in agriculture acreage and poor harvests. “We had 5500 hectares of saffron land in 1996 and now there are only 4000 hectares left. Residential and commercial buildings are being constructed on agricultural land despite an official ban on it,” points out Prof. Firdous Ahmad Nehvi, a scientist at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), Srinagar. “Similarly the production of the crop has dipped from four kg per hectare to two kg thanks to poor rains in the past few years, and lack of scientific irrigation facilities,” Nehvi added.
Mid-October to mid-November is flowering time for the saffron crop, when farmers spend their days in the fields collecting saffron flowers and slicing off the stigmas to get to this premium spice. According to official figures, more than sixteen thousand farm families from 226 villages in four districts (Srinagar, Budgam, Pulwama and Kashtiwar) of the state are directly affiliated with saffron cultivation. Most of the saffron growers, however, are not happy because of the price slide: rates have fallen from Rs 2.7 to 3 lakh per kg to Rs 1.5 to 2 lakh.
Traders say that the biggest hit has come from smuggling of Iranian saffron, which is exported from India after relabeling with the Kashmiri brand. Iran contributes 70
per cent of saffron production of the world but it is scientifically proven that Kashmir grows superior quality of saffron, and the rates are thus higher. “We grow better quality of saffron than Iran. We have a huge demand in the domestic market too, which explains why others sell their stuff in the name of Kashmir,” says Mehraj-u-Din, a farmer of Pampore, the central saffron producing area “Our problem is that our production rate is lower than that of Iran and Spain. They yield five to eight kg of crop per hectare because they don’t have to depend on rains for irrigation, and have access to plentiful scientific production facilities. To add to our woes, our crops have been affected by corm rot in the last few years,” Mehraj said.
Referring to Zafran (Urdu for saffron) Colony, a residential district in Pampore, Mehraj said that the land where the houses stood were originally earmarked for the cultivation of zafran. “This could be possible only with official corruption,” he laments. Less productivity, falling prices, and nature’s bugbears like poor rainfall and crop disease have caused many farmers to quit saffron production in the Valley. “This trade has lost its glory and has become less profitable. Even tomato cultivation turns out to be more profitable and less laborious than this,” Ayaz Lone, a former grower, who sold all his saffron agriculture land last year, told TSI.
In a last ditch attempt to salvage the industry, the government has announced a National Saffron Mission. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced a Rs 375 crore project, to support drip irrigation, research, mechanization, processing and marketing of Indian zafran. Though experts like Professor Nehvi are heartened by the news, many still worry about the future of the saffron industry. A senior official told TSI that the civil unrest in the valley is a major factor for its dismal show. As part of efforts to boost saffron trade, the Saffron Growers Association has asked for customs duty on imported saffron to ensure that it is imported only through legal channels; they’ve also recommended exempting saffron from sales tax. It’s the least that can be done toward the preservation of a national treasure.
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Political unrest apart, a slew of malpractices now threaten this premium spice. Haroon Reshi reports from Srinagar
A couple of weeks ago, Kurt Achin, the South Asia Bureau Chief of Voice of America, was in the Valley for some professional engagements. Before his departure for Delhi, he went to visit the floating market at the renowned Dal Lake in Srinagar in a Shikara (Water Taxi). On the way, the boatman offered him Kashmiri saffron for sale. Kurt purchased some for twenty dollars. Later, at the guest house a waiter informed the journalist that he has been cheated, for the boatman had foisted off fake saffron in the name of one of the most exclusive and expensive spices in the world. In the evening Kurt’s Facebook wall read: “Like a rube, I just spent about 12 bucks on fake saffron. Not the end of the world, but who likes being swindled?”
Early this year, the police held four persons for selling fake saffron to visitors in the Valley. They also recovered thirty five kilograms of saffron-like coloured material in their possession (worth about Rs 10 crore, if it had been original). It was revealed that the tip of corn fiber and the fiber of marigold flower is used to make fake saffron.
Such incidents have brought bad name to Kashmir, where farmers have been cultivating the world’s best quality saffron for the last thousand years. “This is unfortunate that some miscreants are defaming and ruining our industry which is already losing ground due to several other reasons,” Abdul Majid Wani, General Secretary, Saffron Growers Association told TSI. “Now our association has decided to open sales counters at every tourist spot in the Valley, so that visitors can buy pure and guaranteed saffron without being cheated,” Wani added.
Apart from the sale of fake saffron in and outside the state, drought, pollution and official corruption are other major threats to this Rs 400 crore domestic industry. Official figures prove that the production of saffron is reducing by the year owing to decline in agriculture acreage and poor harvests. “We had 5500 hectares of saffron land in 1996 and now there are only 4000 hectares left. Residential and commercial buildings are being constructed on agricultural land despite an official ban on it,” points out Prof. Firdous Ahmad Nehvi, a scientist at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), Srinagar. “Similarly the production of the crop has dipped from four kg per hectare to two kg thanks to poor rains in the past few years, and lack of scientific irrigation facilities,” Nehvi added.
Mid-October to mid-November is flowering time for the saffron crop, when farmers spend their days in the fields collecting saffron flowers and slicing off the stigmas to get to this premium spice. According to official figures, more than sixteen thousand farm families from 226 villages in four districts (Srinagar, Budgam, Pulwama and Kashtiwar) of the state are directly affiliated with saffron cultivation. Most of the saffron growers, however, are not happy because of the price slide: rates have fallen from Rs 2.7 to 3 lakh per kg to Rs 1.5 to 2 lakh.
Traders say that the biggest hit has come from smuggling of Iranian saffron, which is exported from India after relabeling with the Kashmiri brand. Iran contributes 70
per cent of saffron production of the world but it is scientifically proven that Kashmir grows superior quality of saffron, and the rates are thus higher. “We grow better quality of saffron than Iran. We have a huge demand in the domestic market too, which explains why others sell their stuff in the name of Kashmir,” says Mehraj-u-Din, a farmer of Pampore, the central saffron producing area “Our problem is that our production rate is lower than that of Iran and Spain. They yield five to eight kg of crop per hectare because they don’t have to depend on rains for irrigation, and have access to plentiful scientific production facilities. To add to our woes, our crops have been affected by corm rot in the last few years,” Mehraj said.
Referring to Zafran (Urdu for saffron) Colony, a residential district in Pampore, Mehraj said that the land where the houses stood were originally earmarked for the cultivation of zafran. “This could be possible only with official corruption,” he laments. Less productivity, falling prices, and nature’s bugbears like poor rainfall and crop disease have caused many farmers to quit saffron production in the Valley. “This trade has lost its glory and has become less profitable. Even tomato cultivation turns out to be more profitable and less laborious than this,” Ayaz Lone, a former grower, who sold all his saffron agriculture land last year, told TSI.
In a last ditch attempt to salvage the industry, the government has announced a National Saffron Mission. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced a Rs 375 crore project, to support drip irrigation, research, mechanization, processing and marketing of Indian zafran. Though experts like Professor Nehvi are heartened by the news, many still worry about the future of the saffron industry. A senior official told TSI that the civil unrest in the valley is a major factor for its dismal show. As part of efforts to boost saffron trade, the Saffron Growers Association has asked for customs duty on imported saffron to ensure that it is imported only through legal channels; they’ve also recommended exempting saffron from sales tax. It’s the least that can be done toward the preservation of a national treasure.
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