In August 2023, a team of enforcement wing of Department of Agriculture confiscated a shipment of 200 kgs of saffron corms from Srinagar airport, preventing it from being smuggled out of the Valley via Air Cargo.

The smuggling of saffron seeds outside Jammu and Kashmir is significantly impacting the local production amidst shrinking saffron land particularly in Pampore area, one of the key saffron producing areas in the Valley. 

The seeds—saffron  corms—are  extracted from the fields after 4 to 6 years to allow the land to retain soil fertility or for  the crop propagation. Some farmers sell the corms, which, sometimes, are subsequently being smuggled out of the region, leading to seed deficit in the region. 

The smuggling  also threatens the authenticity of the Kashmiri saffron and misleads consumers  about the origin of the saffron they buy.  

Director Agriculture, Kashmir Choudhary Mohammad Iqbal told businessline that the smuggling led to erosion of indigenous saffron variety  with long term consequences for biodiversity .

“It could also lead to the substandard cultivation of saffron in the areas where it is being smuggled into”, Choudhary said. 

However, the government imposed a blanket ban on illegal export of corms outside Jammu and Kashmir in 2023 under the Saffron Act 2007 and the Seed Act 1996. 

A senior official from the Department of Agriculture said that the strict enforcement of the ban had effectively halted the smuggling of corms.

The official said that it also helped in rejuvenation of large swathes of saffron land. 

The official data suggest that more than 217 kanals of saffron had been rejuvenated in Pampore zone, which is known for producing the first-rate saffron in entire India.

 “We have seen the tangible results of the ban as the seeds now become easily available to the saffron cultivators”, Choudhary said. 

Shrinking saffron fields and promotion of niche crops 

Over the last few years,  the changing weather patterns took a toll on the saffron production in the region. According to official data, the saffron production declined by 65 per cent in the last two decades while the land used for the spice cultivation shrank from 5,707 hectares in 1996-97 to 2,387.1 hectares in 2019-2020. 

However, in 2023, the government approved a project worth ₹146 crore for the promotion of niche crops as part of Jammu and Kashmir distinctive agriculture heritage under the Holistic Agriculture Development Program. 

According to the Director Agriculture, 290 hectares of land is to be brought under saffron cultivation.  

“The project is going to give a huge boost to such crops”, he added. 

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