Uttarkashi: Kesar cultivation to help farmers in Uttarkashi

To better the financial condition of local farmers, Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Chinyalisaur town successfully introduced saffron(kesar) crop cultivation in Upla Taknor region of Uttarkashi district, where farmers are largely involved in apple farming.

The high value crop was cultivated few months back on a trial basis on small patches of land in Sukki and Jhala villages of the district with support of Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh. Delighted with the outcome of the project, local farmers have asked government agencies to provide seeds and technical assistance so that the crop can be cultivated in larger area.

“We have successfully cultivated kesar crop in Sukki village of Upla Taknor region of Uttarkashi district. In the initial trial, we cultivated the crop in nearly a 2,000 square feet land and got nearly 120 gram of high quality Kesar, which is worth Rs 20,000,” Pankaj Nautiyal, horticulture expert and in charge of Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Chinyalisaur said.

He said that Sukki, Jaspur, Purali, and other villages of Uttarkashi have conducive conditions for the cultivation of kesar as they are situated at an altitude of 1,800-2,200 metre above sea level and also receive optimum sunlight.

“Farmers of other high-altitude areas can also grow this crop. However, lack of proper climatic conditions may impact quantity and quality of crops. We witnessed this during our trial in Jhala village,” added Nautiyal.

Notably, Kesar is hailed as red gold due to its medicinal value and aroma.

Pratap Singh, a farmer from Sukki village who was involved with the team of experts for saffron cultivation, said, “Saffron crop takes less time. It is cultivated from August last week to September first week and becomes ready to be harvested by November end. Besides, the crop needs less space and farmers can cultivate it in the vacant spaces of their apple orchids.Therefore, farmers should choose this crop along with their regular apple cultivation to multiply their income.”

Another local farmer Mohan Singh Rana said, “Cultivation of saffron along with apple will be economically beneficial for farmers. Government agencies like horticulture department should spread awareness and provide support to farmers as it would be difficult and costlier for most of us to get good quality seeds and technical assistance from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.”