00:00 Vibrant purple as far as the eye can see.
00:05 We're right near Pampur, known all over the world as the saffron town of Kashmir.
00:11 Around 30,000 families here earn their living by growing saffron crocuses,
00:17 a tradition often going back generations.
00:21 Faroz Ahmed's family is no exception.
00:24 When the crocuses are harvested in the fall, his young daughter helps him,
00:29 just like he used to help his parents.
00:32 But Faroz is worried about the future of saffron, known here as kesar.
00:57 So a lot more land is needed to produce the same amount of saffron.
01:02 At the Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine in Srinagar,
01:06 the development is also raising concern.
01:09 Researcher Nashiman Ashraf is working to safeguard the future of saffron in Kashmir.
01:15 Here in this mountainous territory, the spice is not only a cultural asset,
01:20 it's also an important source of income.
01:23 Since the last 13 years, I've been working on different aspects of saffron biology.
01:28 And the feedback we received from the farming community was that
01:33 there are three major reasons for declining saffron production.
01:38 One is unavailability of quality planting material.
01:43 Second is comrade disease. And third, lack of irrigation facilities.
01:49 More than 10 years ago, she created a large gene database,
01:54 detailing over 60,000 sequences of saffron crocuses.
01:59 The aim is to develop a plant that can withstand the new conditions created by climate change.
02:05 We have identified the genes.
02:08 We are in the process of coming up with improved, smart saffron,
02:14 tolerant to drought and many other abiotic stresses, and tolerant to comrade as well.
02:20 India is the world's second largest saffron producer after Iran.
02:26 It takes skill to remove the stamens of the flower that are the precious red spice.
02:31 For just one kilo of pure saffron, you need between 200 and 300,000 crocus flowers.
02:38 That's why the spice is so expensive, at around 2,000 euros a kilo.
02:43 Nashiman Ashraf is visiting the Yarikar Tangmaag region of northern Kashmir.
02:49 The crocus tubers here in the field were cultivated by her team in the laboratory,
02:54 to help them withstand climate change.
02:58 The plants should now be able to cope well with long periods of drought and sudden heavy rain.
03:04 And they should be resistant to the notorious corn rot too.
03:10 We could grow saffron successfully in all the 10 districts,
03:13 but this time we thought we'll expand the area, we'll collect flowers from here,
03:20 and then we will do quality analysis in our Jammu quality analysis division,
03:25 so that we see if the compounds which saffron is known for
03:29 are present in equal amounts in saffron grown here.
03:33 No saffron has grown up here for a long time.
03:37 But the new climate-resistant bulbs are thriving.
03:42 Recent heavy rainfall has not affected the plants, and they also remain disease-free.
03:50 It's a surprise even for the workers on the test field.
03:55 We never imagined this crop would be so successful in this area.
04:00 This has been a successful trial. The blossoms are excellent as well.
04:05 The crop provides better economic returns for farmers than other crops,
04:11 which is why nearby farmers are also coming here to express interest in cultivating the crop.
04:20 It's encouraging news for Nashima and Ashraf.
04:25 More test fields are due to be added in the next season.
04:30 This is the legendary traditional crop of Kashmir Valley, so we don't have to lose this crop.
04:35 We have to do every bit of our effort to preserve this crop.
04:40 In 2019, India produced 22 tonnes of saffron.
04:45 Only a fraction of that went for export.
04:48 That amount could increase significantly if saffron crocuses throughout the region can be made more resilient.
04:55 For most people here, that would be a dream come true, and mean they could soon increase their earnings.
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