A new user manual for saffron cultivation, production and marketing produced by DACAAR promises to assist farmers across Afghanistan in entering the profitable trade of saffron cultivation.

Today, DACAAR proudly celebrates the publication of the first saffron manual specifically tailored for Afghanistan. The manual is written in operational terms and provides illustrated guidelines for all phases of saffron cultivation; from corm selection, to planting, harvesting, processing through to the final stages of packaging and marketing. The manual falls as a milestone in DACAAR’s saffron
project, which marks its ten-year anniversary this year.

Saffron is the most precious and most expensive spice in the world. It is derived from the stigma of the flower of the saffron crocus, which is collected and dried to produce the spice. It is one of only a few crops able to thrive under the highly varied climatic conditions found in Afghanistan. Additional advantages of saffron for the rebuilding of Afghanistan include low water requirements, labour intensive farming and the fact that 80 percent of the work related to saffron cultivation can be carried out by women. The income generated through saffron cultivation is often used as the initial capital input, allowing women to set up their own small businesses.

”I was able to save 5,000 AFN by working in a saffron field. I used the money to buy a scarf making machine. I now earn money by knitting scarves and this enables me to support my family financially” says Mrs Abdul Baqhi, Herat province.

Saffron cultivation has had a tangible positive impact on rural livelihoods in Afghanistan, most significantly by offering a profitable alternative to opium cultivation. The overproduction of opium along with a global increase in demand for the spice over the last couple of years has pushed the unit price of saffron (per kg) far beyond that of opium. While the price of one kg saffron rose from USD200 in 2004 to as much as USD5000 in 2009, the area under cultivation this year has grown to 321 ha from just 16 ha in 2004. In the same period, total production output more than tripled to reach 200 kg per year by 2008.

As the figures clearly indicate, despite the conduciveness of current market trends, Afghan saffron production still lacks a number of important qualities for Afghan farmers to be able to fully harness its potential. In response to the obvious need, not only to increase production, but also to better market Afghan saffron through improved quality, the establishment of national quality standards, awareness raising of saffron usage options and the improved access to both local and international markets, DACAAR currently carries out saffron projects in Herat, Faryab and Laghman provinces. As part of this initiative, 28 farmers along with staff from the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) based in the southern provinces of Helmand, Kandahar, Zabul and Uruzgan were recently trained by DACAAR in saffron cultivation.

For more information contact: Public Information Officer, Sara Rendtorff-Smith, Tel.: +93 (0) 797 011 028, E-mail: infoofficer@remove-this.dacaar.org

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