Director Agriculture for inclusion of saffron under crop insurance

Pampore: Joint Secretary of Horticulture, Government of India Priya Ranjan Jain along with other officials visited the India International Kashmir Saffron Trade Centre (IIKSTC) in Dusoo Pampore area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Thursday.
During the visit, he inspected various sections of the IIKSTC Dusoo and received briefings on the facilities available for saffron farmers, including preservation, grading, packing, labelling, processing, and marketing.
Later, the joint secretary Priya Ranjan chaired the meeting with officials agriculture and horticulture officials. The meeting was attended by Director Agriculture Kashmir Mohammad Iqbal Chowdhury, Director Horticulture Ghulam Rasool and other senior officers.
The Union Joint Secretary reiterated the government’s commitment to the saffron sector’s development. He highlighted the increased significance of Kashmir saffron in national and global markets due to its Geographical Indication (GI) tagging.
Jain reviewed saffron production’s current status and emphasized the optimal utilization of IIKSTC Pampore facilities. He urged the management to raise awareness among saffron growers to maximize their benefits.
The Director Agriculture Kashmir delivered a detailed presentation on the saffron sector and the department’s interventions for its promotion.
Priya Ranjan’s visit was aimed at boosting the saffron industry and maximising its potential in both national and international markets.
Talking to Kashmir Reader, Director Agriculture Kashmir, Mohammad Iqbal Chowdhury said that a project called the National Saffron Mission was initiated by the Government of India in 2010 to promote saffron cultivation.
“ In this context, Joint Secretary Horticulture Priya Ranjan, who is currently on a tour of Kashmir, visited the IIKSTC Pampore today. Saffron crop is expected to be harvested after October 15th, and there are certain challenges that farmers may face in enhancing its production,” he said, adding that during his visit to the IIKSTC, Joint Secretary Priya Ranjan interacted with farmers and inspected the saffron fields in Pampore.
“It was discussed that this particular crop requires irrigation, which is crucial at this stage, as there has been a moisture deficit in the past couple of months due to limited rainfall.The existing irrigation systems and functional bore wells were explored to ensure that the critical irrigation needs of saffron cultivation are met,” Iqbal said.
The main objective of the Union Joint Secretary’s visit was to assess the situation and discuss the issue of irrigation under the National Saffron Mission, he said.
The Director Agriculture said that it was presented to the Government of India that the remaining funds allocated for this project should be utilized to address irrigation concerns promptly.
“During today’s visit, the Joint Secretary assured us that the remaining funds would be released to us as soon as possible. The Director of Horticulture, who is also the Mission Director for MIDH, was present during the visit,” he said.
Additionally, the Joint Secretary inspected post-harvest facilities, especially for saffron, vegetable crops, and apple crops.
“It is important to note that saffron is the most valuable spice globally, and if farmers face any losses, we want to ensure that they are compensated through the crop insurance scheme. In this regard, the visit of the Joint Secretary to IIKST holds significant importance. We will continue to work closely with farmers to address their challenges and find solutions,” he said.
Director Agriculture has stated that they are working on implementing saffron insurance from next year, similar to what has been done for paddy. There will be a meeting in November to discuss this further and gather crop data to be sent to the Government of India. After this process, saffron will be included in the insurance scheme. In the event of drought or other adverse conditions, as is currently happening, farmers will receive insurance benefits based on crop yield per hectare after crop cutting.

BILAL HABIB