Kashmir's farmers revive saffron cultivation indoors as climate change hits

PAMPORE: Farmer Irshad Ahmad Dar is worried about the future of his 'red gold' crops in the town of Pampore, the heart of India's saffron sector.
He makes his livelihood growing and selling saffron – the world's most expensive spice – but crop yield in the Jammu and Kashmir region is facing a steep decline.
The bright purple flowers, which used to flourish in the area, have in recent years struggled to grow due to climate change and erratic weather conditions.
'The crop no longer receives timely and adequate rainfall necessary for its growth,' Irshad told CNA.
He sells his red-hued threads for US$4,600 per kilogram, higher than the global average.
The region boasts the priciest saffron in the world, with its quality – rich colour and intense aroma – giving it premium value.
KASHMIR'S RED GOLD
It takes 150,000 flowers to produce 1kg of saffron -- fragile strands of crimson and fragrant filaments laboriously picked by hand from saffron bulbs.
The spice is used in foods such as paella, as well as in fragrances, dye and medicine.
In India, the industry is estimated to be valued at about US$45 million.
Jammu and Kashmir produce about 90 per cent of India's saffron, of which a majority is grown in Pampore.
It is the third-largest saffron-producing region on the planet, after Iran and Afghanistan.
But Kashmir's crops, already dwarfed by that of Iran's which commands about 90 per cent of production worldwide, are dwindling even further.
Production has withered from nearly 16,000kg annually in 1997 to 2,600kg last year – a drop of more than 80 per cent.
Aside from global warming, fields cultivating the highly prized spice are also under threat from rapid urbanisation, and damaged by wild animals driven to farmlands by deforestation.
Indian authorities have vowed efforts to boost production.
BRINGING SAFFRON INDOORS
In 2018, scientists at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) tried to cultivate the crop in laboratory settings, using tubes containing moisture and vital nutrients.
It was hoped that bringing the crop under controlled conditions can alleviate the challenges of harsh weather elements and wild animals.
The experiment showed early promise across the sprouting, flowering and harvesting phases, and the method has been shared with traditional growers. However, farmers are struggling with propagation.
Bashir Ahmad Ellahi, lead researcher at SKUAST's indoor farming experiment, said the project is still ongoing, and has shown that a controlled environment significantly reduces the risk of crop failure
In contrast, farmers in the state of Haryana – some 500km south of Kashmir – have reported more success.
"We created an artificial environment without using expensive equipment,' said indoor saffron cultivator Naveen Sindhu.
'(We) adopted low-cost heat sheets to control the temperature and installed an air conditioner, a chiller and a humidity controller.'
Naveen and his brother grow saffron in an indoor farm in the town of Hisar. They said they tasted success in their second attempt after learning from mistakes in the first failed batch.
They price their saffron at around US$6,300 per kilogram, earning more than US$23,000 a year.
The Indian government also has its sights set on transforming the northeast of the country into another saffron hub.
Since 2021, its Mission Saffron initiative has expanded farming across the states of Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and Meghalaya, with plans to grow the spice even further.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

CNA

6 hours ago

• CNA

Commentary: Uncertainty around Air India 787 crash will add to Boeing's woes

SINGAPORE: Instead of hobnobbing and securing deals at the Paris Air Show last week, senior Boeing officials were in Gurugram to lend support to Air India following the horrific crash of flight 171 on Jun 12. Before the tragedy, the American planemaker might have been counting on a triumphant turnaround after the debacle involving the 737 Max. And it had been an unusually busy time for Boeing. It reported over 300 orders between May and June, fuelled partly by United States President Donald Trump's state visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE. Qatar Airways put in an order of up to 210 planes, which included 130 Boeing 787s – the 'largest order for 787 Dreamliners' according to the manufacturer. The Doha-based airline also agreed to purchase 30 new 777-9 jets, with options for 50 additional aircraft. In May, the US Justice Department also dropped its criminal case against Boeing for its role in two fatal 737 Max crashes. This has now been overshadowed by the disaster in Ahmedabad, where a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed shortly after take-off, killing at least 270, including all but one of 242 onboard. A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DREAMLINER This is the first fatal accident involving a Dreamliner. What caused it is still unknown, but this uncertainty will no doubt add to Boeing's woes. Conceptualised over 20 years ago, the 787 Dreamliner was Boeing's response to rising jet fuel prices, the market's desire for a more fuel-efficient jet and an attempt to regain an edge over Airbus. It was first publicly revealed in January 2003 as the 7E7, with the 'E' standing for efficiency, economic and environmental performance. I still have a memento from a visit to Seattle before it became the 787. A year later, Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA) was the first to order 50 jets, with deliveries slated to start in 2008. Delays, however, plagued production (not uncommon for most new types of jet, such as the Airbus A380). The first Dreamliner was delivered in 2011. The first commercial flight, from Tokyo to Hong Kong, was on Oct 26, 2011. One passenger even paid US$34,000 to secure a seat on the historic flight. The 787 has now flown for over 14 years, safely transporting over 875 million passengers as of April 2024 according to Boeing. Still, it had its share of concerns and complaints. One of ANA's 787 jets suffered electrical system issues in 2013, arising out of the aircraft's lithium-ion batteries which caused a fire. A Japan Airlines (JAL) 787 also suffered a fire while parked in Boston, prompting the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) to order the grounding of the entire Dreamliner fleet. Boeing also halted Dreamliner deliveries in 2021 due to concerns about production flaws and inspection methods, and again in 2023 for additional fuselage testing. An FAA audit after the January 2024 Alaska Airline's mid-air blowout found production issues while a separate FAA report raised concerns about Boeing's safety culture, amid whistleblowers coming forward. CRITICISMS OF THE 787 UNFAIR, FOR NOW In light of the Air India crash, more concerns and criticisms of the Dreamliner have appeared. But until we learn conclusively from the official probe, it is best not to speculate and jump to conclusions. These are harmful and disrespectful to Air India, Boeing and especially to the families and loved ones of those who perished. Clarification on the AI171's engine history has nevertheless been critical to quell wild speculation. The airline's chairman, N Chandrasekaran, said the aircraft in question had a clean engine history. Air India also said in a statement that one engine was new and the other had been inspected in April. This is important because there have been several instances of the Dreamliner experiencing engine shutdowns without the pilot initiating them – which had been the matter of many discussions among aircraft engineers, pilots and air safety experts after the crash. The 787 uses specific engines: the GEnx-1B, made by GE and the Trent 1000, manufactured by Rolls-Royce. Air India's 787 fleet is powered by the GEnx. In October 2018, a Scoot 787-9 experienced an uncommanded engine shutdown of its right Trent 1000 engine on descent into Perth Airport, caused by a blocked inlet filter. Two years earlier, a mid-air engine shutdown aboard a Jetstar Airways 787-8 was attributed to an issue within the transfer gearbox of the GEnx-1B engine during a Tokyo-Gold Coast flight. Virgin Atlantic's CEO in 2024 criticised Rolls-Royce over the Trent 1000's durability. 'It's not that it's not safe, just to be clear,' Shai Weiss stressed, 'it's just the number of cycles you can run a plane with.' Supply chain challenges are affecting the 787, too, irrespective of the engine type selected by the airline, impacting other carriers like British Airways, Air New Zealand and Kenya Airways. MAKING FLYING SAFER Mr Chandrasekaran said that preliminary findings will likely be known in about 30 days. But a final report is likely to take longer as Indian authorities have yet to decide where the jet's black box recorders should be sent for analysis. Until then, Boeing will likely have to grapple with travellers questioning the safety of the 787 Dreamliner. Safety checks by India's Directorate of Civil Aviation have been completed on 26 out of Air India's 33 Dreamliners. The FAA has also said it is 'too premature' to ground Dreamliners in the United States. The airline industry, by definition, is very complex. Mechanical and human factors go hand in hand on each of the over 100,000 commercial flights undertaken daily on average, notwithstanding elements beyond our control, such as the weather and medical emergencies. While many lives were sadly lost in the AI171 tragedy, investigators, manufacturers and operators must ensure they learn more after identifying all factors that contributed to the accident and then implement changes to make flying even safer.

CNA

3 days ago

• CNA

Warplane maker HAL wins bid to make India's small satellite launch rockets

BENGALURU : State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd has won a bid to commercially make India's small satellite launch rockets, in the government's biggest move yet to open its fast-growing space industry to private players. Fighter jet maker HAL won with a bid of 5.11 billion rupees ($59 million), space regulator the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre said on Friday. Reuters reported in February that three consortiums - Alpha Design Technologies, a unit of Adani Defence Systems and Technologies, state-backed Bharat Dynamics and HAL - were the finalists to acquire India's Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) technology. "One of the big things we have been wanting to do is to make India the global hub for small satellite launches," Pawan Goenka, chairman of IN-SPACe told reporters. Shares of HAL rose as much as 1.6 per cent to hit a session high of 4,980 rupees after the announcement. Handing SSLV's technology to HAL marks a significant shift for India's space industry, which has already granted satellite communication service licenses to global and domestic firms such as France's Eutelsat and Reliance Jio's satellite venture. The rocket is capable of carrying 500kg payloads to low-Earth orbit. HAL will have the capability to build, own, and commercialize SSLV launches, Goenka added. HAL intends to offer a "very competitive" price on launches both for India and international clients, said Barenya Senapati, Director (Finance) at Hindustan Aeronautics. About 20 companies had initially expressed interest in bidding for the SSLV, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policy drive to open up India's space industry. The global low-Earth orbit launch vehicle market was valued at $13.9 billion in 2023 and is estimated to grow to about $44 billion by 2032, according to Global Market Insights. India, which accounts for only 2 per cent of the global space economy, is eyeing a fivefold expansion to $44 billion by the end of the decade. Hindustan Aeronautics and Larsen & Toubro, an industrial conglomerate, have a government contract to manufacture and deliver larger rockets to Indian Space Research Organisation. The first of those are due for launch between October and December, said Radhakrishnan Durairaj, chairman and managing director of New Space India Limited, the commercial arm of ISRO.

CNA

3 days ago

• CNA

Cognizant to invest $183 million for new India campus, add 8,000 jobs

BENGALURU :Software services firm Cognizant Technology Solutions will invest 15.82 billion rupees ($182.76 million) to build a new campus in south Indian city of Vishakapatanam that will create about 8,000 jobs, the state government announced on Friday. Commercial operations will begin in March 2029, an Andhra Pradesh government press release said. Cognizant did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The announcement comes just months after India's top IT firm, Tata Consultancy Services, unveiled plans for 13.70 billion rupee campus in the same city, and is expected generate 12,000 jobs. The move aligns with Cognizant's strategy to optimise real estate costs. In May 2023, Chief Executive Ravi Kumar S said the company would relinquish 11 million square feet of office space globally, mainly in India's largest cities, while investing in tier-2 Indian cities. Globally, IT companies, including those in India's $283 billion sector, are taking cost-cutting measures such as monetising real estate assets and delaying wage increases amid demand uncertainty. Last month, the Teaneck, New Jersey-based company raised its annual revenue forecast and beat first-quarter results driven by increased demand for AI-powered IT services. Cognizant expects 2025 annual revenue between $20.5 billion and $21.0 billion, compared to previous outlook of the midpoint of $20.30 billion to $20.80 billion.