Explanation:

Farmers in Jammu and Kashmir are claiming that the crop production of saffron has been lesser than last year after the saffron harvesting has come to a close in Kashmir recently.

They have attributed the decline to climate change, lack of irrigation facilities and lesser availability of saffron seeds.

In 2020, saffron production had a bumper crop crossing over 13 tonnes which was a record high in a decade, but this year, farmers on an individual scale have estimated 20% lesser production than last year.

There are three turns in which farmers pluck the stigma (red-orange filament) from the saffron flower.

The harvesting happens in the 15-day phase in which the stigma continues to grow, and the plucking happens after every five days.

As per the local farmers, the first turn of harvesting they had lately was bumper for all of them, but then there was a subsequent decrease in the second harvest and least yield in the final harvest.

It takes around 5,000 flowers to produce 30 grams of saffron—making it very high-valued and the most expensive spice in the world (by weight).