The current sorry state of saffron trade in Kishtwar merits immediate and serious policy and administrative actions. From Rs 2.7 lakhs per kg last season to Rs 1.3 lakhs this season, the price slide is simply disastrous. The market credibility and respect of Kishtwar saffron – regarded as the world’s best – and grown with most painstakingly by the farmers, is at stake today. Today, profitability for farmers from saffron is very low. Currently, over 5310 families, especially in Poochal and Cherar areas of the district, are engaged in saffron farming. Other villages, include Hanjala, Hullar, Pohi, Berwar, Bindraban Dugga Girinagar, Sangrambata, Kundhal, Narangad, Hatta, Begana, Berabhata, Hidyal, Arsi, Tund, Bemarnag, Traxina and Nagni. But low land holding remains an issue. Official figures revealed that 120 hectare of land was under saffron cultivation in Kishtwar district. There are some policy and regulation steps that need to be taken up at the central government level. Kozhikode, Mangalore and Chennai airports have become major smuggling points of saffron that comes from Iran. After import, saffron is re-branded as Kashmiri saffron and exported to international markets. This results in price reduction of genuine Kashmiri saffron in Indian, and international markets as well. The J&K government needs to impress upon Central government to look into these loopholes very seriously. If at all saffron is to be imported that must come through legal channels with applicable import duties. Now the diminished productivity; subject experts have been attributing low saffron productivity to glitches like long planting cycles, non-graded corms of random weights, no fungicide treatment of corms, non-application of farm yard manure and inorganic fertilizers. But practically speaking, such cost-intensive practices are not possible for most of the farmers given today’s market costs. As such, selling of 2-5 kanals of land in the saffron growing belts makes better economic sense for farmers today. Then there are some steps which need to be taken by saffron growers and traders themselves. One responsibility relates to ensuring purity and quality of the saffron they buy in pure form from the farmers. Second is to correct the weighing inconsistencies. There is a glaring weighing distortion which puts the farmers at a real disadvantage. While the traders buy saffron in out-fashioned system of tolas (comprising 11.75 gms), they sell the same onwards in the normal terms of 10 gms as one tola. So if a farmer sells one kilogram of saffron to a local trader he loses 175 grams in the process. Government needs to amend the Saffron Act to bring in weighing uniformity. It is a fact that the decline in production is also due to erratic rainfall and consequent drought like conditions that are now a regular feature of our climate. For the sake of better ownership, saffron growers must ideally contribute financial resources in developing irrigation systems.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
SAFFRON BLUES
The current sorry state of saffron trade in Kishtwar merits immediate and serious policy and administrative actions. From Rs 2.7 lakhs per kg last season to Rs 1.3 lakhs this season, the price slide is simply disastrous. The market credibility and respect of Kishtwar saffron – regarded as the world’s best – and grown with most painstakingly by the farmers, is at stake today. Today, profitability for farmers from saffron is very low. Currently, over 5310 families, especially in Poochal and Cherar areas of the district, are engaged in saffron farming. Other villages, include Hanjala, Hullar, Pohi, Berwar, Bindraban Dugga Girinagar, Sangrambata, Kundhal, Narangad, Hatta, Begana, Berabhata, Hidyal, Arsi, Tund, Bemarnag, Traxina and Nagni. But low land holding remains an issue. Official figures revealed that 120 hectare of land was under saffron cultivation in Kishtwar district. There are some policy and regulation steps that need to be taken up at the central government level. Kozhikode, Mangalore and Chennai airports have become major smuggling points of saffron that comes from Iran. After import, saffron is re-branded as Kashmiri saffron and exported to international markets. This results in price reduction of genuine Kashmiri saffron in Indian, and international markets as well. The J&K government needs to impress upon Central government to look into these loopholes very seriously. If at all saffron is to be imported that must come through legal channels with applicable import duties. Now the diminished productivity; subject experts have been attributing low saffron productivity to glitches like long planting cycles, non-graded corms of random weights, no fungicide treatment of corms, non-application of farm yard manure and inorganic fertilizers. But practically speaking, such cost-intensive practices are not possible for most of the farmers given today’s market costs. As such, selling of 2-5 kanals of land in the saffron growing belts makes better economic sense for farmers today. Then there are some steps which need to be taken by saffron growers and traders themselves. One responsibility relates to ensuring purity and quality of the saffron they buy in pure form from the farmers. Second is to correct the weighing inconsistencies. There is a glaring weighing distortion which puts the farmers at a real disadvantage. While the traders buy saffron in out-fashioned system of tolas (comprising 11.75 gms), they sell the same onwards in the normal terms of 10 gms as one tola. So if a farmer sells one kilogram of saffron to a local trader he loses 175 grams in the process. Government needs to amend the Saffron Act to bring in weighing uniformity. It is a fact that the decline in production is also due to erratic rainfall and consequent drought like conditions that are now a regular feature of our climate. For the sake of better ownership, saffron growers must ideally contribute financial resources in developing irrigation systems.
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