India, Dec. 29 -- A high-level scientific delegation from Iran's Ministry of Agriculture has sparked a serious rethink about the future of Kashmir's saffron sector, bluntly contrasting Iran's globally dominant saffron model with the stagnation seen in Pampore, Kashmir's historic saffron heartland.

The five-day collaborative mission, hosted by the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir (SKUAST-K) in partnership with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), brought together two of the world's most important saffron-growing regions-but with vastly different outcomes.

Led by Elham Fattahifar, Director General for Greenhouses and Medicinal Plants, the Iranian delega...