After being hit by climate change, saffron farmers in Kashmir are now battling a new threat — porcupine attacks that are eroding already fragile yields.
The large rodent, covered in sharp quills, feeds on saffron corms — the underground bulbs — damaging the crop at its root. Farmers said that porcupines are most active between December and April, when losses are the highest.
“The corms remain in the soil for five to seven years once planted, but the damage caused by porcupines forces us to replant them every year,” said Ali Mohammad, a farmer from Pampore in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district.
The Pampore highlands are the epicentre of India’s saffron industry, with the country ranking as the world’s third-largest producer of the prized spice after Iran and Afghanistan.
Once known for its rich harvests, Kashmir’s saffron output has declined sharply over the decades due to a combination of environmental stress and human pressures. Snowless winters, poor irrigation infrastructure and the steady loss of farmland to urban expansion have pushed production down from 15.97 tonnes in 1997–98 to 3.48 tonnes in 2021–22. By 2024, government data showed the yield had fallen further to 2.6 tonnes.
“Each year, we lose around 20 to 25 per cent of the produce to porcupines,” said Javed Ahmad, another farmer.
Farmers and experts attribute the rising incidence of porcupine attacks to deforestation, which has pushed the animals out of their natural habitats and into saffron fields in Pampore and adjoining areas.
To counter the threat, farmers are relying on conventional methods such as organic repellents, naphthalene balls and manually guarding their fields. However, experts say these measures have had limited success in containing the rodents.
“We suggest erecting porcupine-proof fencing around farmland,” said a wildlife official, adding that such efforts could be undertaken collectively if five to six farmers pool their resources.
The official said cages are also being installed to capture the rodents, but with little success so far.
Porcupines are a protected species in Jammu and Kashmir, restricting the options available for population control and complicating efforts to safeguard crops.
Experts say a long-term solution will require a combination of habitat management, scientific deterrents and coordinated community action, alongside stronger support from the government to protect the region’s struggling saffron industry.
Published on April 15, 2026