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The Spices Board of India is setting up a spice park at Pampore in the
Kashmir Valley to provide better marketing facilities to the saffron growers
and also curb the sale of sub-standard & spurious saffron in the market. The
Board will invest Rs 373 crore under this scheme during first four years.
About 3,785 hectares of saffron land would be brought under this scheme in
the first phase. The Government would provide Rs 26,000 per canal to the
farmers for replacement of seedlings and ensure further increase in saffron
production.
Around 1,500 hectares of saffron land would be provided irrigation facility
this year. Under this scheme water pumps would be installed in the area to
provide proper irrigation facilities to the saffron fields. Saffron farmers
would be provided 50 per cent subsidy for installing sprinkler sets in the
fields, which would cost around Rs 50,000 per set.
Saffron is the heritage of Jammu and Kashmir. The need of the hour is to
initiate steps to curb spurious sale besides increasing productivity and
improving its quality," said Ghulam Hassan Mir, Jammu & Kashmir Minister for
Agriculture. Saffron of Jammu and Kashmir has its own identity in the global
market he added.
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