{"id":187144,"date":"2025-11-04T10:00:33","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T05:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/?p=187144"},"modified":"2025-11-04T10:17:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T05:17:00","slug":"kashmirs-saffron-cultivation-nearing-collapse-as-production-plummets-by-90","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/2025\/11\/04\/kashmirs-saffron-cultivation-nearing-collapse-as-production-plummets-by-90.html","title":{"rendered":"Kashmir\u2019s saffron cultivation nearing collapse as production plummets by 90%"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Srinagar: 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.<\/p>\n

According to Kashmir Media Service, farmers in Pampore \u2013 historically known as the “Saffron Bowl of Kashmir” \u2013 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.<\/p>\n

“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.”\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Srinagar: 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. According to Kashmir Media Service, farmers in Pampore \u2013 historically known …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":187145,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[5],"class_list":["post-187144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-misc","tag-top-story"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t