Saffron is a unique and precious agrarian product of Kashmir Valley. Even in the Valley its cultivation is restricted to a particular karewa (plateau) in the area of Pampore the Padmanpora or ancient Kashmir, situated on Srinagar -Anantnag Highway. History of Kashmir tells us that in ancient times when Kashmir was connected with the famous Silk Road through an artery, the most important and precious commodity exported by Kashmiri traders was saffron. Prior to the rise of Chingiz Khan in Central Asia, Kashmir saffron remained the mainstay of commercial activity. It had medicinal as well as decorative aspects to it. Lately it is Spain where the saffron production has been developed on scientific methods and it has captured most of the European market.
It is very good that the National Horticulture Board of the Union Ministry of Agriculture will develop a saffron park in Dassu in Pampore at a cost of 24.54 crore rupees and that all aspects of improving and increasing production of the commodity and its proper marketing under a brand will be undertaken so that the farmers and cultivators engaged in its production are provided incentives. Actually this announcement was made by the Prime Minister during his recent visit to Leh. We appreciate the decision of the Union Ministry of Agriculture to spend good deal of amount on this agricultural activity.
However we would like to caution the authorities about a couple of things in this context. It is important that while in excitement of producing more saffron and increasing its commercial aspect we should ensure that we do not disturb the quality of the soil and the product while we are making experiment in its improvement. We are reminded of the enthusiasm which the Department of Horticulture showed in introducing the Delicious apple in Kashmir. It was good that delicious apple was an improvement made by the western horticulturists and while imitating it blindly from them, our horticulturists did not know that it could be afflicted easily by a disease called scab. This disease wrought havoc to the entire apple industry. Therefore, we would alert the Horticulture Department to be careful when handling saffron which is a rare commodity. The quality of soil should not be affected while we are trying to improve its quality and capacity of production. It is the special soil of the karewas of Pampore that produce saffron.
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