Pampore, Oct 31: A sense of cautious satisfaction is visible on the face of Irshad Ahmad, a saffron cultivator from Patlibagh in south Kashmir’s Pampore, as he gathers the delicate purple flowers from his saffron field. After a devastating season last year, he hopes the current harvest will bring some respite to farmers who suffered heavy losses due to unfavourable weather conditions.
“This year, the crop is comparatively better,” Ahmad said, adding that saffron growers witnessed a nearly 80 percent decline in production last year.
As the harvesting of the world’s most expensive spice gets underway in Pampore, the heartland of Kashmir’s saffron cultivation, farmers are reporting a marginal improvement in production compared with the previous year. However, they remain cautious, saying it is too early to assess the overall yield.
Last year, prolonged dry weather and a snowless winter took a heavy toll on saffron production, leaving cultivators struggling to recover their investment. According to farmers, the yield declined by more than 80 percent in several fields, resulting in substantial financial losses.
“Last year, saffron cultivators suffered heavy losses. All their hard work went down the drain due to a lack of moisture in the saffron fields,” Ahmad said.
He said farmers were once again concerned about the impact of largely similar weather conditions on the crop this year. However, rainfall in August brought some relief by improving moisture conditions in the fields and raising hopes of a better harvest.
Despite the improvement, Ahmad said the weather remained a major concern for saffron growers, whose crop depends heavily on suitable soil moisture and favourable climatic conditions during crucial stages of growth.
Farmers said the initial signs were encouraging, but the actual production would become clearer as more saffron flowers emerged in the coming days. The harvesting season is crucial for cultivators, who carefully pluck the flowers and separate the delicate red stigmas that are dried and processed into saffron.
The crop requires considerable labour, particularly during harvesting, when flowers must be collected and processed carefully to preserve the quality of the spice. Any substantial decline in production directly affects growers’ earnings, given the investment involved in maintaining saffron fields.
For many cultivators in Pampore, saffron remains an important source of livelihood, supporting at least 20,000 to 25,000 farming households and workers involved in harvesting and processing. However, erratic weather conditions have added to the uncertainty surrounding production, making it difficult for farmers to estimate their returns before the season progresses.
