Reports

The Purple Revolution, with due credit to the transformational vision of Dr. Jitendra Singh, the Hon’ble Union Minister of State (IC) of the Ministry of Science & Technology and the untiring efforts of the team working on the Aroma Mission at Council of Scientific Research – Institute of Integrated Medicine (CSIR-IIM), Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (UT-J&K) along with the support from the Department of Agriculture Production & Farmers Welfare and the readiness of farmers to explore new avenues in the realm of agriculture, has marked a paradigm shift in the agricultural landscape of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (UT-J&K). This revolution has heralded the arrival of newfound economic prospects in the beautiful valleys and tablelands (karewahs) of UT-J&K, rendering the local farmers a new lease of life. Once known for its world-class saffron and apple orchards, the area is now becoming well-known for its thriving lavender farms. In addition to contributing to the area’s attractiveness, the enchanting lavender plantations have proven to be a profitable crop for farmers, providing new opportunities for expansion and substantial financial gains.

First introduced in UT-J&K, as an experiment in 2007 with an aim to enable farmers to switch to profitable crops, lavender cultivation is now producing trailblazing outcomes. Practiced in several districts of both the Jammu and Kashmir divisions, thousands of farmers turned to lavender cultivation owing to its potential of emerging as a commercially successful crop. Statistics suggest that approximately 5000 entrepreneurs / farmers cultivating lavender on more than 200 acres of land which has resulted in a 4 to 5 times expansion of the economy. With thousands of families involved in lavender cultivation and each farmer employing at least 5 other people, the business has already been successful in employing 6000 families in the region.

Experiments have revealed that the vegetative propagation of lavender through cuttings has been the most successful method for lavender propagation & cultivation in the temperate climate of Kashmir. Jammu & Kashmir are known as the hubs of medicinal plants, and among those, lavender has emerged as the biggest contributor to the economy.