EVALUATING THE PRODUCTION AND YIELD TRENDS OF SAFFRON CULTIVATION IN KASHMIR IN REFERENCE WITH NATIONAL SAFFRON MISSION

Kashmir is one of the few regions in the world that furnishes an environment suitable for growing saffron. The study was carried out to assess the production and yield trends of saffron cultivation in Kashmir while evaluating the role of national saffron mission. The results of the study revealed an overall increase in the area under the saffron cultivation during the beginning of the mission in 2010 up to 2014 with a downfall in 2015. The overall production has not shown a regular trend. It has varied over the first three mission years. Afterwards it has also reflected a declining trend. Productivity was high during the starting years of the national saffron mission but it showed a decline in the later years of the mission.