PM’s decision will enhance profitability, says LG
Kashmir farmer says Govt fulfilled dream of doubling income
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Aug 9: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today announced the Government decision to market world famous Saffron of Jammu and Kashmir across the country through National Agriculture Cooperating Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED) which will give big boost to the farming.
He made these remarks while interacting with farmers across the country after depositing Rs 19,500 crore in the bank accounts of 9.75 crore farmers under PM-KISSAN Scheme.
“Jammu and Kashmir’s world famous saffron will be sold across the country by NAFED now. This will give big boost to Saffron farming in J&K,” the Prime Minister said.
Later interacting with one of the Saffron grower Abdul Majeed Wani of Kashmir via video conferencing, Modi said the Government wants fragrance of Jammu and Kashmir saffron to spread across the world.
“For this, we are all together. Results have started coming,” he added.
Wani was all praise for the Prime Minister for doubling income of Saffron farmers in 2021 much before the target of 2022 set by him.
“Saffron production had taken a hit. I have been doing saffron farming for last 30 years but it was not fetching much. With the Government intervention and strenuous efforts under Saffron Mission, the farming has been revived. Now we have new technology as well as incentives which was benefiting all growers,” Wani said.
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“How much land he possesses?” the Prime Minister asked.
Wani said he has large chunk of land but has been doing Saffron cultivation in 30-40 kanals.
Modi again asked Wani as to whether Saffron farming now has made any difference in his life.
Wani said earlier he was earning just Rs 90,000 to Rs one lakh or Rs 1.1 lakh per kilogram. But with the creation of Saffron Park, he said, he was now getting Rs 2.25 lakh or even Rs 2.3 lakh per kilogram.
“Your dream of doubling income of the farmers has been fulfilled. You had set the target of doubling our income in 2022 but our income has doubled in 2021 itself because of your efforts,” Wani told the Prime Minister and said that farmers have benefitted a lot as Saffron has got identity due to GI tag.
“e-auction has also been helping the farmers a lot,” he said.
Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Dr Jitendra Singh tagged the Prime Minister’s tweet on marketing of Jammu and Kashmir saffron through NAFED and hailed the decision.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha also expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister for sale of Saffron through NAFED.
“I express my deepest gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making J&K’s Kesar available at all outlets of NAFED nationwide which will enhance profitability of the Kesar producers and directly connect local farmers in the market,” the Lieutenant Governor said in a tweet.
Calling the Government’s initiatives like Geographical Indication (GI) tagging and Spice Park at Pampore a game-changer for the Saffron grower of the area, Wani said the India International Kashmir Saffron Trading Centre (IIKSTC) provided an e-auction for the Saffron growers and fetching them double the prices for their crop.
He believed that by establishing the Spice Park, e-auction was done to market Kashmiri Saffron while as GI tagging provided an authentication certificate to the crop at national and international market where customers buy genuine Saffron instead of fake brands sold in the name of Kashmiri Saffron.
Wani said that the Saffron cultivation faced a hitch but due to the Government’s timely intervention through National Saffron Mission (NSM), its revival is back on course.
“NSM helped us in two ways: one is that it provided us latest technologies of farming, besides it provided incentives for Saffron cultivation due to which the spice was revived in this area,” Wani added.
He also expressed his gratitude to the PM for announcing the availability of Kashmiri Saffron at ‘NAFED’ shops across the country, saying such initiatives will further provide boost to the world’s precious spice with respect to its marketing.
The interaction for Saffron growers was held at IIKSTC Dussu Pampore.
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