VOA常速英语:Climate Change Affecting Saffron Farming in Kashmir

The long and silky saffron filaments are the three deep red threads of the saffron flower.These are carefully picked from the flower by hand.Each kilogram of saffron is derived from about 150,000 such flowers.Pure saffron sells at high rate in Kashmir but saffron production has declined from last two years due to sever change of temperature.
细长像丝绸般的藏红花丝是藏红花花朵里面三条深红色的线。全部都是手工从每朵花里挑出来的。每公斤藏红花是由15万朵这样的花制成的。纯藏红花在克什米尔的销售量很高，但由于气温的急剧变化，藏红花的产量比过去两年有所下降。

There must be at least three rainfalls a year for good saffron yield.This year we didn’t receive even five percent of the rain we normally get. The biggest problem is lack of irrigation. The saffron flower blooms in October through November. They must get plenty of water before that.Located on the outskirt of the capital Srinagar, Pampore is the valley’s saffron district.Nearly 90% of the cultivation of the exotic purple flower takes place here.It is said that saffron has been growing in the fields of Pampore for close to 2500 years.
要获得好的藏红花产量，每年至少要有三次降雨。今年，我们甚至连平时5%的降雨量都没有。最大的问题是缺乏灌溉。藏红花在十月至十一月开花。在那之前他们必须得到足够的水。潘波雷位于首都斯利那加郊区，是山谷中的藏红花区。这种奇异的紫色花近90%是在这里种植的。据说，藏红花已经在潘波雷地区生长了近2500年。

Traditionally Pampore would host a harvest festival after a successful crop season, something the area has not seen in a few years.In the event of a good crop, a festival will be hold here.Everyone will be celebrating and be happy but the saffron cultivation has suffered enormously during the past two to three years.You can see beggars take more flowers than I could pluck.And if that was not enough for the local farmers, Kashmiri saffron is now facing fierce competition in the Indian markets.Ever since the saffron from overseas reached Indian markets, the Kashmiri produce has lost its demand and grandeur.
传统上，潘波雷在丰收季节过后会举办丰收节，这是该地区几年来从未见过的。如果收成好，这里将举行节日。每个人都会庆祝和喜悦，但是藏红花种植在过去的两三年中遭受了巨大的损失。你可以看到乞丐拿的花比我摘的还要多。如果这还不足以给当地农民造成打击，克什米尔藏红花现在正面临着印度市场上的激烈竞争。自从海外藏红花进入印度市场以来，克什米尔地区的藏红花已经失去了它的需求与辉煌。

Professor A.S. Dar of the Saffron Research Station believes weather is not the only reason why local saffron farmers are seeing a decline in demand.The main reason is inefficient marketing, the farmers are not getting the price they should get for their produce.Poor rainfall and urbanization of the area have created problems.Experts say that approximately 120 to 160 kilograms of saffron was been produced per hector of land in 2015 compared with just 12 kilograms last year. This year the production may come down even more.
藏红花研究站的A.S. Dar教授认为，天气不是当地藏红花种植者需求下降的唯一原因。主要原因是营销效率低下。农民没有得到他们应该得到的价格。降雨不足和该地区城市化带来了问题。专家表示，2015年每公顷土地大约生产120至160公斤藏红花，而去年仅为12公斤。今年产量可能会进一步下降。

For Zubair Dar and and Yusuf Jameel, this is Bezhan Hamdard, Srinagar, VOA News.
美国之音新闻，Zubair Dar和Yusuf Jameel口述，Bezhan Hamdard, 斯利那加报道。