The Salamabad olive orchard in Kashmir’s uri has become a beacon of agricultural innovation.
Established in 1987 through an Indo-Italian collaboration, this 30-kanal orchard is the only olive farm in the region.
It houses 232 olive trees producing six to seven varieties, managed under the Department of Horticulture, Kashmir Life reported.
Despite its potential, the orchard faces significant challenges due to climate change.
While it produced 20 quintals of olive oil in 2021, extreme heatwaves in Uri, one of Kashmir’s warmer areas, caused a steep decline to just one quintal in 2023.
The orchard employs a meticulous oil extraction process. Olives are hand-plucked, cleaned for 24 hours, ground into paste, and pressed using hydraulic machinery.
Sixty plates are pressed simultaneously, yielding one litre of oil from 10 kilograms of olives. The extracted oil is filtered for 20 hours to ensure quality.
To support the farm’s sustainability, the government offers olive oil at a subsidized price of Rs 1,000 per litre, far lower than the market rate of Rs 2,000–4,000.
This initiative has made high-quality olive oil accessible while promoting local agriculture.
In addition to olives, the Salamabad nursery cultivates fruits like kiwis, oranges, and grapes in smaller quantities.