Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Agriculture Production Department, Atal Dulloo, today visited Saffron areas of Pampore to review the status of flower picking operations going on in the fields.Director Agriculture, Kashmir, Chowdhary Mohammad Iqbal besides Administrator India International Kashmir Saffron Trade Centre (IIKSTC), Shahnawaz Ahmad Shah, Agriculture Information Officer, Sheikh Imran, member Kisan Board, Irshad Ahmad and other senior officers accompanied the ACS.
ACS visited saffron fields and inspected the saffron flower picking operations there. He reviewed status of various interventions being made by the department besides assessing latest technologies adopted by the saffron growers.
ACS, while talking to media, said that the aim of today’s visit was to seek feedback regarding the facilities being provided to the saffron growers by the department.Dulloo said that the saffron (Corocus Sativus Kashmirianus) is a legendary crop of Jammu and Kashmir.
“It is an important cash crop and the department is enduring to boost this harvest to its full potential”, he added.Regarding the IIKSTC, ACS said that the centre has been established by the department to provide saffron growers with the best facilities for their pre and post harvest besides marketing of their produce.
Atal Dulloo said that adoption of latest technologies by the saffron farmers will not only increase the production but will ensure better quality to the consumers as well. He said GI tagging of saffron has increased its value and significance opening up new vistas for its trade at international at level.
Atal Dulloo said the quality of Kashmir saffron is much better than the quality of saffron from other countries like Spain and Iran. He asked the concerned officers to work in a way that the economic benefit of this unique quality of Kashmir saffron reaches the concerned saffron farmers.
Earlier, Director enumerated various initiatives being taken up by the department towards the promotion of saffron and its marketing.Later, ACS visited IIKSTC Dussoo, Pampore and inspected different sections there to take stock of various operations including collection of flowers, stigma separations, drying, packing and other related activities.