Zafar Ahmad Bhat’s honour in New Delhi shows that Kashmir’s heritage crops can earn a place on the world’s table if the state backs its farmers
The felicitation of Kashmiri farmer Zafar Ahmad Bhat at the Bharat International Rice Conference in New Delhi is a moment of quiet pride for the Valley. He was honoured for his efforts to preserve Mushk Budji, the indigenous short-grain rice known for its distinctive aroma. Behind that honour lies years of patient work in the fields of Sagam, the village in Anantnag that has become a prominent centre for this high-altitude variety.
Mushk Budji is not just a crop. It is a part of Kashmir’s culinary memory, served at wazwan feasts and prized in homes for generations. Yet for decades it came close to vanishing, pushed aside by high-yield varieties that filled granaries but carried no fragrance. That farmers like Bhat kept sowing it, season after season, is the reason the grain survived long enough to receive the Geographical Indication tag in 2023. The GI tag protected the name. The farmer protected the seed.
The conference itself deserves notice. Jammu and Kashmir stood alongside Odisha, Assam and Telangana, states with far larger rice economies, to showcase indigenous GI-tagged and speciality varieties. The Union Territory was represented by the Agriculture Production and Farmers Welfare Department, with Director Agriculture Kashmir Sartaj Ahmad Shah in attendance. The department used the platform to engage with the International Rice Research Institute and the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority. These are the institutions that can turn a village speciality into an export product.
This is the right approach. For too long, Kashmir’s agricultural strengths have been discussed in terms of nostalgia rather than markets. A GI tag means little if the rice cannot reach a buyer in Dubai or London at a fair price. The conference brought together global buyers, policymakers, researchers and exporters. Its stated aim is to strengthen market linkages and help niche regional varieties reach mainstream international retail. If that promise is kept, Sagam’s farmers will have a reason to expand cultivation rather than abandon it.
The credit here is shared. The farmer kept faith with the crop. The department put it on a national stage. The GI system gave it legal identity. Each step depended on the other. This is how heritage agriculture should work, with the grower, the government and the market pulling in one direction.
There is more to do. Mushk Budji is a low-yield variety grown in limited pockets. It needs seed support, fair procurement and branding that tells its story honestly. Other Kashmiri crops, from saffron to Kashmiri garlic and the Valley’s apples, deserve the same attention. The template now exists.
For today, though, the Valley should simply congratulate Zafar Ahmad Bhat. He did not wait for a scheme to save his heritage. He saved it himself, one harvest at a time, and the country has noticed.
