Srinagar, Nov. 9 -- Panic has gripped saffron farmers as production has fallen by 10 percent this year so far. Last year, the production dropped to 30 per cent of the 2023 figures of 14.94 metric tonnes. Figures released by the Department of Agriculture revealed that the totalsaffronproductionhit 16.34 metric tonnes in 2022. In 2021,saffronproductionwas recorded at 15.04 metric tonnes. The output per hectare was recorded at 4.4 kilograms in 2022. Saffroncultivationis highly sensitive to weather conditions.The cultivationentails hard work and patience. When the purple harvest arrives in autumn, the flowers are plucked and the crimson red stigma removed and dried for days until it shrinks to the size of a slender thread. One stigma ofsaffro...