Kashmir’s world-renowned saffron sector is facing an existential crisis, with growers reporting a devastating 90% plunge in this year’s production, pushing thousands of farming families into severe economic distress and threatening to erase a cultural heritage that has defined the territory for centuries.
Farmers in Pampore – historically known as the “Saffron Bowl of Kashmir” – reveal that this season’s output has barely reached 10-15% of normal levels. The situation has become so critical that growers warn the iconic crop could completely vanish from the territory by 2030 if immediate intervention measures are not implemented.
“The corms haven’t sprouted properly at all this year,” stated Abdul Majeed Wani, President of the Saffron Growers Association. “Production is hardly 15%. It isn’t even half of last year’s crop, which itself was only about 30% of the normal harvest. Every year it’s decreasing, and the government doesn’t seem serious about safeguarding this sector.”
