“Our endeavour is to transform degraded and barren land into productive assets and create new opportunities for our farmers,” says LG Saxena.
LEH: Ladakh has begun its first pilot saffron cultivation with nearly 90,000 premium Iranian saffron corms, weighing around 800 kg, planted across 4,000 square metres of recently restored land at Spituk Pharka in Leh. The experiment is aimed at testing whether the high-value crop can be cultivated commercially under Ladakh’s high-altitude agro-climatic conditions.
The plantation, undertaken under the guidance of Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, marks another agricultural diversification exercise by the Ladakh Administration following its experiments with high-value floriculture, including large-scale cultivation of Lilium and Gladiolus in Leh.
Agriculture experts involved in the pilot have said the saffron corms are expected to produce a good quantity of the crop. The outcome of the experiment will be assessed to determine the suitability of saffron cultivation in the region and its potential as an additional source of income for farmers.
The plantation is being carried out at Command Area Gate No. 27 at Spituk Pharka, on land that had remained barren until recently and has been restored and rejuvenated under Project Him Sarovar.
Saxena said the experiment could help explore the economic potential of another high-value crop while demonstrating that degraded land in Ladakh could be brought back into productive use.
“Our endeavour is to transform degraded and barren land into productive assets and create new opportunities for our farmers. The introduction of saffron is another important experiment in crop diversification, which can open a new avenue for enhancing farmers’ incomes through a premium-value crop,” Saxena said.
For the pilot, the administration has used high-quality Iranian saffron corms having a circumference of 8 to 10 cm, a diameter of 2.5 to 3 cm or more and a weight of at least 10 grams. The specifications are considered suitable for high-quality saffron production.
The initiative has been linked to the vision of diversifying traditional agricultural practices to strengthen farmers’ incomes and create livelihood opportunities for local youth. The administration said its earlier experiments with Lilium and Gladiolus had opened opportunities for farmers, Self-Help Groups and local entrepreneurs.
Saffron commands a premium price and has strong market demand, making it a potentially remunerative crop. Jammu and Kashmir accounts for approximately 90 per cent of India’s saffron production, according to the release, making the Ladakh experiment a pilot effort to examine whether the crop can be successfully introduced beyond its established growing areas.
The saffron plantation site forms part of around 800 acres of land being restored in Leh by improving water availability through the adjoining Igoo–Phey irrigation canal, which was recently restored and operationalised.
On the directions of the Lieutenant Governor, unutilised or excess water from the canal is being channelled towards the previously barren land to improve its moisture content and make it suitable for cultivation.
The Command Area also has four water ponds developed under Project Him Sarovar, located adjacent to the plantation site. The ponds have a combined storage capacity of around 24 million litres.
The administration said the saffron plantation would be assessed as a pilot to determine the crop’s suitability to Ladakh’s climatic conditions and evaluate its economic potential, as part of its wider efforts to bring restored land under productive agricultural use.
