MIRPUR-AJK: The production of saffron has declined by over 67 per cent from 2010 to 2024 in Indian Illegally occupied Jammu Kashmir state, a report issued on Tuesday late.
According to a report, which was released by the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), said that the production of saffron in the strife-torn Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir state has decreased from 8.0 MT in 2010-11 to 2.6 MT in 2023-24 (provisional), resulting in an overall decline in production by about 67.5% over the period.
The report attributed the decline in saffron production to the troubled circumstances caused by the increased human rights abuses by the Indian occupational forces particularly against women folk, besides male farmers, in the occupied valley where women farmers are mostly involved in the cultivation of saffron.
“During the last one year from 2022-23 to 2023-24, the saffron production was drastically fallen”, the report said.
The KCCI said that the decline in saffron production is a matter
of grave concern and has serious implications for the economy of the region.
“Saffron is one of the main cash crops of the region and its decline will have a negative impact on the livelihood of thousands of saffron growers in the valley,” the KCCI said.
The chamber called on the government to take urgent measures to revive the saffron industry in the region.