Farmer Khursheed Butt Urges Govt for Proper Irrigation System to Boost Industry
PAMPORE, September 15: Farmers in Pampore area are expressing great happiness this year as timely heavy rainfall has brought excellent moisture to the saffron fields, raising hopes of a good saffron production. The improved conditions in the fields have given saffron growers optimism for a fruitful harvest this season.
At the same time, farmers have appealed to the government to expedite the completion of irrigation work to further support the cultivation process.
Speaking to Morning Kashmir, Khursheed Ahmad Butt, a progressive saffron farmer of Pampore, said that August and September are critical months for irrigation. However, the recent heavy rainfall has provided relief to the farmers, and they are hopeful of achieving good saffron yields this year.
He added that this year, the much-needed rainfall for irrigation before the production season, especially before early October, has occurred at the right time. There has been significant rainfall, and the moisture required inside the saffron corms is present in good amounts. However, it is not necessary that rainfall occurs at this time every year; this year, by the grace of Allah, it happened at the right time. Still, our already much-awaited pending issue is the proper irrigation system, which needs to be implemented across all saffron fields. Wherever saffron cultivation is done, a proper irrigation system should be established.
For this purpose, the local MLA, Retired Justice Hasnain Masoodi, is supporting us and is actively involved in this process. It is very important to ensure proper irrigation throughout the cultivation areas, and we are very grateful to the MLA Pampore for his support in this matter.
“Kashmir saffron is well-known to be the best in the world”, Butt said. “If this industry is to be preserved, the most essential requirement right now is a proper irrigation system. This will help boost the industry significantly, ensure increasing production every year, and the proper way to achieve this is by having a well-structured irrigation system. The government should cooperate with farmers in this effort. We are hopeful that this year’s production will be good, especially after October 15.
In addition, Khursheed Ahmad Butt expressed his and other officers deep gratitude to the Police Awantipora and the Agriculture Department, for their timely intervention in stopping the illegal export of two quintals of saffron corms that were being sent outside Kashmir.
“They took immediate action, brought the corms under their control, and returned them back to the cultivation fields in Pampore. We express our heartfelt gratitude to the police and the concerned department for their support,” he said.
He Further urged that all, illegal exporting of corms must be stopped to protect thesaffron industry, and reiterated the farmers appreciation for the continued efforts for the police and the concerned department in safeguarding Kashmir’s valuable saffron crop.
