Sharp rise in Saffron cultivation

Afghanistan Ministry of Agriculture said that Saffron cultivation has a remarkable increase compared to the last year.

According to officials in the ministry of agriculture, more than four hundred formers all across the country have been trained how to cultivate and collect Saffron.

They consider distributing the bushes of Saffron in weight of 116 tones to all farmers across the country.

They noted that last year, of the 24 provinces of the country four thousand kilograms of Saffron have been collected and the figure may have a high increase this year.

“In addition to Herat province, the quality of Saffron has also become better in Balkh province,” Lutfullah Rashid, spokesman of agriculture ministry said.

According to the National Union of Saffron Growers (NUSG), Herat Province currently produces more than 90 percent of Afghanistan’s saffron although farmers in 25 other provinces grow it too. More than 6,000 Herati farmers grow saffron and some 18 companies sell and export it abroad.

Saffron production reaches 3 tons annually in this province, 60-80 percent of which is exported. NUSG’s data also show saffron cultivation is more prevalent in Ghoryan, Pashtun Zarghoon, Enjil and Gozara compared to other districts in Herat Province.

Saffron production in Afghanistan dates back to more than 100 years. But saffron cultivation was forgotten until some 22 years ago when some Afghans who had been acquainted with saffron cultivation and production in Iran returned and decided to continue the practice in Ghoryan district in Herat Province.

This trend, which started with 60 square meters of land, moved so fast that now more than 800 hectares of land in Herat are under saffron cultivation.