Finally, Kashmir Saffron gets Geographical Indicator (GI) tag

ZIRAAT TIMES NEWS

Srinagar: After years of efforts at multiple levels, Geographical Indicator Registry of the Government of India has finally granted Geographical Indicator (GI) certification to Kashmir Saffron.

With this certification, Kashmir Saffron would be able to reclaim its unique brand worth and help improve its brand value and returns to farmers.

Farmers, traders and other promoters of Kashmir saffron have been pitching for GI tag for Kashmir Saffron for long. The formal registration is expected to help in better price yields for farmers, which, in turn, could give a fillip to an otherwise struggling agro-economic activity.

The Geographical Indicator for saffron has been registered in the registry in the name of the Director of the Directorate of Agriculture, Kashmir Division; Government of Jammu and Kashmir, facilitated by the Sheri Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), Shalimar and Saffron Research Centre, Dussu, Kashmir.

Pertinently, hit by diminishing farmer interest, low price yields, climate change, cheaper Iranian saffron imports, poor irrigation and outdated farming and post-harvest practices, the production of Kashmiri saffron has declined by 65% over 22 years to 2018–from 16 metric tonnes to 5.6 metric tonnes, as per the records of the Department of Agriculture Kashmir.

Kashmiri saffron is of superior quality because of the higher concentration of crocin, a carotenoid pigment that gives saffron its colour and medicinal value: Its crocin content is 8.72% compared to the Iranian variant’s 6.82%, a government document claims, giving it a darker colour and enhanced medicinal value.