India: Using AI to grow a saffron business

Saffron is one of the world’s most expensive spices and traditionally cultivated in Kashmir in cold climate. But, there’s one man from Thrissur, Kerala who has found a solution to grow the valuable spice in a totally different climate.

With the help of artificial intelligence (AI) and automated technology, James Kappani has established an indoor saffron farm on his rooftop, where he uses them to regulate humidity, temperature and lighting to cultivate Kashmir saffron. It was an experiment after visiting Kashmir and now it has become a business. Kappani is selling the saffron grown by him at Rs 650 per gram and is training others about the indoor cultivation of saffron.

Kappani’s interest in saffron farming began when he went for a business visit to Pampore, Kashmir in 2022. In November he witnessed large fields where purple saffron flowers. He had consulted with the local farmers and had found out that it is the red stigma of the flowers that is used to make saffron.

This visit made him think that he should try and find out if saffron could be cultivated in Kerala also. He came back from Saudi Arabia in 2022 after 20 years in the military department, and decided to launch his own business. Kappani had thought of exporting vegetables from Kerala before he decided to go into saffron cultivation. But he struggled in getting the required quantities from local suppliers and had to rely on supplies from Mumbai and Tamil Nadu.

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