Ludhiana: Former educator Wani brings Kashmiri saffron to city

Sajjad ul Akbar Wani has a PhD in ecology and was a teacher at the Government Degree College Pampore until three years ago when his father had a stroke and he had to focus on his family’s saffron farm. He left his job and took over the farm. But he had more than farming on his mind.

Three years down the line, Wani is part of a collective called Kashmir Agro Exports, which deals in products made from saffron grown in Pampore and other things available locally. He is offering their own produce at the Kisan Mela here.

“I believe that jobs are only for lazy people. Those with ambition can do much more. When my father suffered a stroke three years ago, I decided to leave my job and become my own boss,” he said as he also dealt with the customers thronged to his stall offering Kashmiri products like Honey, Saffron, Lavender and Saffron perfumes, Shilajit, Kesar Soaps, Moisturisers etc.

Wani and as many as 50 more farmers like him run the collective with the help of technology provided Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) Kashmir.

Wani recalled that at a similar festival in Kashmir last year, the stall from his collective earned 7 lakhs in three days. “I’ll agree that I am not earning enough to afford a luxurious lifestyle at present, but I make enough to provide for my family which includes two kids, parents and wife.”

People also liked the different products available at his stall and praised the Kisan Mela for bringing different things for this exposure. “We may never go to Kashmir and experience these products and see how the farmers there were progressing. This gives us both exposure and lessons on how we can develop our farming into business,” said Swaran Singh, who reached to see the Mela from Sangrur.