Ahmedabad: In a unique innovation, a startup from Gandhinagar, has developed saffron farming in Gujarat through Aeroponics.

Saffron, which is typically cultivated in cooler climates and is usually found in Kashmir in India, has been cultivated here. The startup – Aeroponics Saffron Farming – was founded in December 2021 by Sahil Ninama and Mayank Dabhi. It was incubated at Swarrnim Incubation Center of Swarrnim Startup and Innovation University earlier this year.

“Saffron is cultivated only once in a year in Jammu and Kashmir in India. It is seldom cultivated anywhere else. However, using aeroponics, we have successfully cultivated saffron in a 10×10 feet area in our university campus. The key uniqueness here is that the crop can be cultivated four times in a year instead of once a year. Moreover, we have also improvised on the saffron production process and reduced it by one fourth,” explained Sahil Ninama, co-founder, Aeroponics Saffron Farming.

“Going forward, we plan to cultivate saffron in waste land as well as unused places in Gujarat. The method used is aeroponics in which soil and water are not required and instead an artificial climate is created. We have successfully cultivated saffron with an investment of Rs 3 lakh. Using this method, we can get a yield of 500-600 gram saffron using 100 kg of saffron bulbs. Interestingly, there is no quality deterioration in the new crop as well,” Mayank Dabhi, co-founder of the firm said. The crop is also sent for product testing for Safranal, crocin and procrocin content.

So far, the startup has received Rs 1.46 lakh funding jointly contributed by the state government and the university for the cultivation of saffron.

The startup aims to expand its saffron production and retail it in the market.

“This innovation of saffron cultivation can help take indigenous agriculture crops of India to the world and help farmers earn better” said Mr. Adi Jain, Vice President, Swarrnim Startup and Innovation University. DeshGujarat

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