Agriculture, horticulture, and floriculture are among the most important business sectors in Jammu and Kashmir. The Kashmir Valley has an abundance of natural resources such as soil, water, and rich natural flora, and good climatic conditions, because of which a wide range of flowers can be cultivated in the region.
J&K at large, particularly the Kashmir Valley, is known for its vibrant flowers that paint the landscape in beautiful hues. Nature lovers, flower enthusiasts, and photographers around the world, visit the Valley across the year, especially in the spring season, for this is when several richly blooming flowers beautify Kashmir’s lakes and gardens.
Flowers are grown in the Kashmir Valley, for ornamental purposes as well as for their uses in cooking, medicine, and cosmetics. In Kashmir, flowering plants are being utilized on highways, in parks, and public as well as home gardens. Home gardening is a new trend among Kashmiris. The flowers cultivated in Kashmir are used locally, sold in different states of India, and exported to other countries. These flowers, in fresh as well as dried form, have a huge market in and outside India. Thus, flower cultivation or floriculture in Kashmir has created a plethora of employment and business opportunities in the region and has a huge scope for growth as an industry. Let’s look at opportunities and future scope in the floriculture industry in Kashmir.
Opportunities in Floriculture and Allied Sectors in Kashmir
In the 1990s, the area under flower cultivation in J&K was 80 ha, which has currently increased to 350 ha, and the annual turnover is 1350 lakhs. Floriculture can be considered as a good option of diversification in agriculture. Right from planting seeds to plucking the flowers, as well as their storage and transportation, there are job opportunities in every aspect of flower farming.
Commercial floriculture requires high-quality planting material and hybrid varieties of seeds, for which specialized research is necessary. Thus, there is scope for researchers and botanists to in the field of flower cultivation.
For proper cultivation of flowers and for the use of advanced methods of farming, harvest and storage, local farmers require training. Thus, the floriculture sector is Kashmir presents opportunities to technical experts and those with the knowledge of modern farming techniques, to conduct awareness campaigns and training programs for farmers in rural areas of J&K.
Fresh flowers such as marigolds, lotuses, and roses are heavily used in temples. So there are many work opportunities for growers of these flowers as well as those working in the packaging and transport of flowers.
Hobbyists and craft stores buy dried flowers, which is why selling dried flowers is a business opportunity in J&K. Additionally, there are jobs for those working in the process of drying flowers, and storing and packaging them.
The perfume business is an important sector allied to floriculture. Many flowers like lavender and rose are used in the manufacture of perfumes. These and other fragrant flowers like clary sage and mint are used in the manufacture of essential oils. There is huge scope for work in aromatic crop cultivation and in the processes of extraction and distillation, as also in the storing and packaging of perfumes and oils. Thus, the aroma industry in Kashmir has a good potential for creating employment in the region.
Kashmir’s flowers like saffron and cockscomb (moaval) are used in food colouring. Flowers like dahlias and marigolds are used in the manufacture of fabric dyes. Thus, the cultivation of these flowers creates work opportunities in J&K, as also allied activities like the manufacture of dyes and food colour from plants, and their storage, packaging and transport.
Flowers such as lotus, lavender, chamomile and saffron are profusely used in medicine. The cultivation of these flowers as well as the process of extracting ingredients like water or oil from these flowers for use in medicine, provide work opportunities to Kashmiris.
When it comes to the floriculture industry in Kashmir, saffron requires a special mention as Kashmiri saffron is world-famous and Kashmir is among the world’s largest cultivating places of this spice. Growing and selling saffron is one of the most lucrative business ideas for Kashmiris. A lot of man power is required for harvesting saffron, which is how this sector has created several work opportunities in J&K.
Since flowers are cultivated on a large scale in Kashmir, there are job and business opportunities in the field of floriculture supplies like farming tools, plant material, pesticides, disinfectants and fertilizers.
Marketing is a field underlying every business. Flowers and flower products have to be promoted effectively in the local and international market. This requires experts in market research and survey. A good marketing strategy has to be devised and implemented effectively in order to achieve good sales of the floriculture products, and this opens up many work opportunities in the marketing and sales fields in Jammu and Kashmir.
Today, many youngsters in Kashmir are turning towards flower farming as a profitable business option, and many are running their own business in sectors allied to floriculture. Thus, flowers growing in Kashmir have brought happiness to the locals, not just through their fragrance and colours, but also by boosting the economic growth of J&K.
