Hon’ble Lt Governor Brig (Dr) BD Mishra (Retd) holds meeting with Secy Agriculture & Director DIHAR to discuss saffron cultivation in Ladakh.

Leh, March 3, 2025: The Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, Brigadier (Dr) BD Mishra (Retd) held a meeting at the Lieutenant Governor’s Secretariat to discuss the cultivation of saffron in Ladakh.
Principal Secretary, Sanjiv Khirwar, IAS; DGP Ladakh, Dr SD Singh Jamwal, IPS; Commissioner/Secretary to the HLG, Dr L Franklin, IAS; Secretary, Agriculture, Bhupesh Chaudhary, IAS; Secretary, GAD/PWD/PHE, Michael D’Souza, IAS and Director, DIHAR, Dr OP Chaurasia were present in the meeting.
At the outset, the HLG inquired about the possibility of exploring cultivation of saffron in Ladakh having planted saffron on a pilot basis at Raj Niwas.
Dr OP Chaurasia informed the HLG about Kargil being the ideal place to explore the cultivation of saffron in Ladakh. He also informed about farmers in Kargil who are working or have worked on saffron cultivation in the district. He further informed that the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research–Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR–IIIM) Jammu have worked on saffron cultivation and has the required expertise. DR OP Chaurasia informed the HLG of various initiatives taken by DIHAR to support the local farmers, particularly those in forward areas of Ladakh.
Secretary, Agriculture, Bhupesh Chaudhary, IAS, apprised the HLG of the plan to collaborate with CSIR-IIIM Jammu to explore the cultivation of saffron in a large area in Ladakh to check its economic viability and to check which variety of saffron is best suited for cultivation in the region.
The HLG asked Secretary Agriculture and Director DIHAR to explore the feasibility of saffron cultivation in Ladakh to benefit local farmers, particularly women engaged in agriculture practices. He also asked Director DIHAR to continue to focus within the scope of the revised role of DIHAR on agriculture, horticulture, and cattle management and optimise the use of the expertise of scientists along with the assets for the benefit of local farmers.
There was also a discussion on cultivating hing (asafoetida) in Ladakh.