Golden spice

Saffron farming in Herat is good business.

For three years running, Afghanistan’s saffron has won top prize at the international fair in Brussels.

Saffron farming in Herat is good business.

For three years running, Afghanistan’s saffron has won top prize at the international fair in Brussels.

Last year, the High Economic Council, chaired by the president, approved a five-year national project for saffron under the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock.

Officials in the ministry say the target is to raise saffron yields from the present 5.3 tonnes to 14. Spokesperson Lutfullah Rashed said land under saffron would expand. “Saffron is now cultivated in 22 provinces. It will be extended to 34 provinces. Some 236 tonnes of the saffron bulb were distributed last year. The bulbs have a five-year life span.”

At present the province of Herat grows 90 percent of the country’s saffron. Bashir Ahmad Ahmadi, deputy director in the provincial agriculture department says 850 hectares were covered with saffron last year that yielded some 3,500 kg. The land under saffron cultivation has been extended by 100 hectares this year.

In fact, saffron has replaced poppy in some districts in Herat. The poppy-cultivating districts of Ghorian and Pashtoon Zarghoon have switched to saffron. Farmers are growing poppy in only Shindand district, where the security situation is difficult.

Saffron farmers and traders want the government to fix the price of saffron bulbs. Abdul Aziz Sherzad who heads the Khurasan saffron market in Herat says the lack of price protection is their only problem. “Imports from Iran to Herat hurt our saffron,” he says.

Afghan saffron sells in Italy, France, India and other parts of the world. Recently China has shown interest in importing Afghan saffron.  The challenge before the trade is to meet the increasing demand.

The spice requires delicately handling by farmers. This is what determines its quality. Atiqullah Romal, an expert on saffron in the Herat agriculture department, says half the farmworkers are women. “Most farms are spread over less than two hectares of land, too small to mechanise. However, the process of drying the spice is being done by machines that ensure the smell and colour are retained,” he says.

There are also unconfirmed reports of Afghan saffron being smuggled abroad and sold. Lutfullah Rashed says the ministry has no official knowledge of this clandestine trade.