Porcupines push Kashmir’s saffron to the brink

SRINAGAR: A stinging pest is on the hunt for Kashmir’s “red gold”. Farmers in Panpur are now living on pins and needles.In the saffron highlands of Pampur, about 15 kilometers southeast of Srinagar in Pulwama district, an unusual predator is devouring one of the region’s most prized crops. The burrowing Indian-crested porcupine, a nocturnal rodent, has begun feeding on saffron bulbs beneath the soil, hollowing out the harvest before it blooms.The corm is the underground, bulb-like stem of the crocus plant that produces the autumn-blooming purple flowers and the prized red stigmas used in the spice saffron — kong in Kashmiri, kesar in Hindi, zafaran in Persian.National Conference’s Pampore MLA Hasnian Masoodi said the pace of destruction could wipe out saffron from Kashmir in the coming years. “Porcupines are eating the saffron roots. Production has dropped sharply from about 22,000 kilograms fifteen years ago to nearly 1,000 kilograms now,” he said.The crisis surfaced at the J&K Assembly on Saturday, where Forest Minister Javed Ahmed Rana outlined the steps taken after Masoudi raised the alarm. He said teams from the wildlife and forest department were assessing the damage in the saffron plateau of Pampur and mapping the vulnerable areas.Massoudi countered that the reality was harsher. “There is no wildlife survey. I don’t know how these porcupines came to Kashmir but now they are destroying crops here,” he said.For many farmers, the losses are much greater. Some reports said damage to farmland was as high as 80%.In Khrew – a saffron-growing area about 20 kilometers southeast of Srinagar in Pampore – production has almost disappeared. “Helu once contributed about 4,000 kilograms to a total production of 22,000 kilograms, but now the fields there are basically unproductive,” said Masoudi, who is from the region.Wildlife experts and officials attribute the surge to a combination of ecological changes. Deforestation has shrunk natural habitats, forcing porcupines to migrate to farmland. Declining predator numbers – particularly leopards – have removed key controls on their numbers. Warmer winters extend foraging periods, allowing rodents to remain active for longer periods of the year.However control options are still limited. As a protected species under wildlife laws, porcupines cannot be killed, turning the destruction of crops into a long-simmering human-animal conflict.Rana’s advice to farmers reads like a defense manual: clear burrows and bushes that provide shelter to rodents, erect mesh barriers buried 1.5m deep to stop burrowing, paint tree trunks white or wrap them in gunny bags to discourage nocturnal activity, spray pepper-based organic repellents and place naphthalene near nests.Priority should be given to the worst-hit areas, he said.Massoudi countered that farmers cannot bear this burden alone. “The road map has been outlined, but who will implement it?” he asked. “People lack resources. If the state doesn’t take action, farming will be abandoned.”This prospect looms over the highlands of Pampulkareva on the banks of the Jhelum River, long known as the “saffron heart” of the valley, where the spice has shaped people’s livelihoods and identities for centuries. If the quills continue to win underground, then the flowers may stop rising above them.