logo
Kashmir's farmers revive saffron cultivation indoors as climate change hits

Kashmir's farmers revive saffron cultivation indoors as climate change hits

CNA20-05-2025

PAMPORE: Farmer Irshad Ahmad Dar is worried about the future of his 'red gold' crops in the town of Pampore, the heart of India's saffron sector.
He makes his livelihood growing and selling saffron – the world's most expensive spice – but crop yield in the Jammu and Kashmir region is facing a steep decline.
The bright purple flowers, which used to flourish in the area, have in recent years struggled to grow due to climate change and erratic weather conditions.
'The crop no longer receives timely and adequate rainfall necessary for its growth,' Irshad told CNA.
He sells his red-hued threads for US$4,600 per kilogram, higher than the global average.
The region boasts the priciest saffron in the world, with its quality – rich colour and intense aroma – giving it premium value.
KASHMIR'S RED GOLD
It takes 150,000 flowers to produce 1kg of saffron -- fragile strands of crimson and fragrant filaments laboriously picked by hand from saffron bulbs.
The spice is used in foods such as paella, as well as in fragrances, dye and medicine.
In India, the industry is estimated to be valued at about US$45 million.
Jammu and Kashmir produce about 90 per cent of India's saffron, of which a majority is grown in Pampore.
It is the third-largest saffron-producing region on the planet, after Iran and Afghanistan.
But Kashmir's crops, already dwarfed by that of Iran's which commands about 90 per cent of production worldwide, are dwindling even further.
Production has withered from nearly 16,000kg annually in 1997 to 2,600kg last year – a drop of more than 80 per cent.
Aside from global warming, fields cultivating the highly prized spice are also under threat from rapid urbanisation, and damaged by wild animals driven to farmlands by deforestation.
Indian authorities have vowed efforts to boost production.
BRINGING SAFFRON INDOORS
In 2018, scientists at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) tried to cultivate the crop in laboratory settings, using tubes containing moisture and vital nutrients.
It was hoped that bringing the crop under controlled conditions can alleviate the challenges of harsh weather elements and wild animals.
The experiment showed early promise across the sprouting, flowering and harvesting phases, and the method has been shared with traditional growers. However, farmers are struggling with propagation.
Bashir Ahmad Ellahi, lead researcher at SKUAST's indoor farming experiment, said the project is still ongoing, and has shown that a controlled environment significantly reduces the risk of crop failure
In contrast, farmers in the state of Haryana – some 500km south of Kashmir – have reported more success.
"We created an artificial environment without using expensive equipment,' said indoor saffron cultivator Naveen Sindhu.
'(We) adopted low-cost heat sheets to control the temperature and installed an air conditioner, a chiller and a humidity controller.'
Naveen and his brother grow saffron in an indoor farm in the town of Hisar. They said they tasted success in their second attempt after learning from mistakes in the first failed batch.
They price their saffron at around US$6,300 per kilogram, earning more than US$23,000 a year.
The Indian government also has its sights set on transforming the northeast of the country into another saffron hub.
Since 2021, its Mission Saffron initiative has expanded farming across the states of Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and Meghalaya, with plans to grow the spice even further.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

T20 can be US craze like yoga and Bollywood weddings
T20 can be US craze like yoga and Bollywood weddings

Straits Times

time3 hours ago

  • Straits Times

T20 can be US craze like yoga and Bollywood weddings

Cricket - Fifth T20 International - India v England - Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India - February 2, 2025 India players lift the trophy and celebrate after winning the t20 series REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis Cricket - ICC T20 World Cup 2024 - Final - India v South Africa - Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados - June 29, 2024 General view of India fans in the stands before the match REUTERS/Ash Allen T20 can be US craze like yoga and Bollywood weddings Indian-American businessman Sanjay Govil is convinced Twenty20 cricket can be the next big cultural import into the United States, following a trail blazed by yoga and Bollywood-style weddings. Previous investors have held similar dreams of breaking into the U.S. sports league market, only to be thwarted by the nation's obsession with baseball, basketball and American football. IT entrepreneur Govil, however, is confident that along with Microsoft's India-born CEO Satya Nadella and Silicon Valley's Anand Rajaraman and Venky Harinarayan he can embed the short, jazzy version of cricket deeply into the U.S. sporting landscape "T20 leagues are the future," Govil, who owns Washington Freedom, one of the six franchises in the Major League Cricket (MLC), told Reuters. "Like Yoga, like Bollywood weddings, things from India and it's crazy here. "People here just love Indian wedding. When we have weddings in hotels, people just stop and watch. It's a spectacle, right?" Although cricket originated in England, India is now its financial engine with a cash cow in named the Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 competition, which has a brand value of $12 billion. IPL franchises with deep pockets also own teams in leagues in England, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, West Indies and the United States. The U.S. featured in the first international cricket match, against Canada, in New York in 1844, but cricket remains very much a niche sport in the country. RAISED PROFILE The introduction of the MLC in 2023 and staging matches in last year's T20 World Cup have raised the game's profile. Cricket returning to Olympics after a gap of 128 years at the 2028 Los Angeles Games will be "another big impetus", said Govil, who was born in Canada but grew up in New Delhi before moving to the U.S. Govil, who also owns 50% stake in the Welsh Fire franchise of The Hundred tournament in England, said MLC franchises learned a lot from their interaction with IPL counterparts. "One of the IPL owners came to my house and he educated me on how to build a team," he said. The presence of India's marquee players in the MLC would have been the icing on the cake but Govil respects the Indian board's policy of not allowing its players to take part in leagues abroad. "I'm sure they have some logic behind why they're doing what they're doing, and I respect that," he said. "I have to succeed in the cards which are dealt to me." Govil knows that cricket in the U.S. cannot rely only on the Indian market or south Asian diasporas in order to be successful. "We want to grow domestic talent. We cannot just rely on international players," he said. "We also have to create our own market here, because we cannot just rely on Indian eyeballs watching our matches." "We are in this for a long haul," Govil added. "We are making a lot of investments. We all have to have our own stadiums. "Once we have like eight or nine stadiums, that's when you're going to really see cricket growing in the U.S." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

EV maker VinFast's Q1 loss widens on higher spending as deliveries rise
EV maker VinFast's Q1 loss widens on higher spending as deliveries rise

CNA

time4 hours ago

  • CNA

EV maker VinFast's Q1 loss widens on higher spending as deliveries rise

Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast on Monday reported its sixth consecutive quarterly net loss as it continues to ramp up spending to boost sales volumes. VinFast reported a net loss of $712.4 million for the first quarter, less than the $1.3 billion loss in the previous quarter but 15 per cent more than a year earlier. Analysts' average forecast was for a $616.3 million loss, according to LSEG data. Revenue jumped 150 per cent to $656.5 million in the January-March period, compared with analysts' average estimate of $520 million. Deliveries leapt nearly 300 per cent to 36,330 vehicles during the quarter, mainly driven by sales in Vietnam, its biggest market. Backed by Vietnam's largest conglomerate, Vingroup, VinFast continues to face challenges due to weak consumer demand, stiff competition, and a 25 per cent tariff the U.S. has imposed on imported vehicles. VinFast previously identified the U.S. as a key growth market. "Despite Q1 typically being our slowest quarter, deliveries for the first quarter of 2025 exceeded our total deliveries for the first half of last year - an encouraging start to 2025 amid ongoing global uncertainties," said VinFast Chair Thuy Le. The firm is intensifying promotional efforts domestically, shifting to a dealership model from the costlier option of its own showrooms, and redirecting its focus to Asia, with its new assembly plant in India set to begin operations in July. VinFast, which has reported a loss every quarter since it went public in August 2023, has received around $2 billion in financial support from its founder and CEO Pham Nhat Vuong and Vingroup, as of May.

Shein and Reliance reportedly aim to sell India-made clothes abroad within a year
Shein and Reliance reportedly aim to sell India-made clothes abroad within a year

Business Times

time7 hours ago

  • Business Times

Shein and Reliance reportedly aim to sell India-made clothes abroad within a year

[MUMBAI/LONDON] Fashion retailer Shein and partner Reliance Retail plan to rapidly expand their Indian supplier base and start overseas sales of India-made Shein-branded clothes within six to 12 months, said two people with knowledge of the matter. The China-founded, Singapore-headquartered e-commerce firm has been discussing plans with the Indian retailer since before the US imposed tariffs on Chinese imports that intensified the need to diversify sourcing, the people said. The aim is to raise Indian suppliers to 1,000 from 150 within a year, they said. In a statement to Reuters, Shein said it licensed its brand for use in India. Reliance did not respond to queries. Shein sells low-priced apparel such as US$5 dresses and US$10 jeans shipped directly from 7,000 suppliers in China to customers in around 150 countries. Its biggest market is the US where it is adjusting to tariffs on low-value e-commerce packages from China which were previously imported duty free. The retailer launched in India in 2018 but its app was banned in 2020 as part of government action against China-linked firms amid border tension with its northeastern neighbour. It returned in February under a licensing deal with the Reliance Industries unit which launched Shein India's website selling Shein-branded clothes produced in local factories. In contrast, Shein's other websites mainly list goods from China. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Reliance, controlled by Asia's richest person, Mukesh Ambani, has contracted 150 garment manufacturers and is in discussion with 400 more, said the two people, declining to be identified due to confidentiality concerns. The goal is 1,000 Indian factories making Shein-branded clothes within a year for both the Indian market and to service some of Shein's global websites, the people said. Shein initially wants to list India-made clothes on its US and British websites, one of the people said. Discussions have been ongoing for months and the launch time of six to 12 months could change depending on supplier numbers, the person said. The scale of supplier expansion and export time frame is reported here for the first time. Shein has licensed its brand for domestic use to Reliance which 'is responsible for manufacturing, supply chain, sales and operations in the Indian market,' Shein said. In December, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal told parliament that the Shein-Reliance partnership aimed to create a network of Indian suppliers of Shein-branded clothes for sale 'domestically and globally'. On-demand manufacturing Shein is a fast-fashion behemoth earning annual revenue of over US$30 billion through low prices and aggressive marketing. Most of its products are from China with some made in countries such as Turkey and Brazil. Its expansion in India mirrors interest in the country from the likes of Walmart and others throughout the global fashion and retail industries, particularly those looking for suppliers outside China due to the Sino-US trade war. The Shein India app has been downloaded 2.7 million times across Apple and Google Play stores, averaging 120 per cent on-month growth, showed data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower. Offerings during its first four months have reached 12,000 designs, a fraction of the 600,000 products on its US site. In the women's dresses category, its cheapest item is priced 349 Indian rupees (S$5.24) versus US$3.39 on the US site as of Jun 9. Shein's Indian partner Reliance, which operates the app, is working with suppliers to assess whether they can replicate Shein's global best-sellers at lower cost, the two people said. Reliance aims to emulate Shein's on-demand manufacturing model, asking suppliers to make as few as 100 pieces per design before increasing production of those that sell well, they said. Executives from Reliance recently visited China to understand Shein's 'innovative' supply chain operations, 'data driven' design processes and 'disruptive' digital marketing, Manish Aziz, assistant vice-president Shein India at Reliance Retail, said in a LinkedIn post in which he called Shein's scale and speed 'truly incredible'. The partnership is one of dozens Reliance has with fashion brands, such as Brooks Brothers and Marks and Spencer. The firm also runs e-commerce site Ajio and its retail network competes with Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart as well as value retailers such as Tata's Zudio. Reliance plans to work with new suppliers to source fabric – especially fabric made using synthetic fibres where India lacks expertise – and import required machinery, the people said. The firm will invest in suppliers and help them grow which in turn will help the Shein-Reliance partnership go global, they said. REUTERS

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store