TEHRAN, December 13 - The Afghan government has increased saffron production by 22 percent this year as part of a plan to create an alternative source of income for farmers dependent on opium poppy cultivation.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) -
It has provided 6,600 workers with special training in the cultivation, processing, and packaging of saffron in the hope that it could replace the bright red flowers of opium poppy, which partially fuel conflicts in the region.
“Saffron production in Afghanistan has witnessed an unprecedented growth this year, and has reached 13 tonnes,” said Akbar Rustami, the spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock.
“Saffron was cultivated in 15,610 acres of land in 33 provinces, producing 12,955 kg of saffron, which is nearly 13 metric tons,” Rustami added on Tuesday.
According to the spokesman, Herat, Faryab, Kandahar, Balkh, Sar-e-Pul, and Farah provinces had the highest level of saffron production this year.
“Saffron farmers received some $17 million in revenues by selling saffron crocin and picrocrocin in local markets,” he said, adding that 90 percent of the saffron is exported.
Saffron, a key seasoning, fragrance, dyes, and medicine in use for over three millennia, is one of the world's most expensive spices by weight. Known as the red gold, it sells for up to $1,500 per kilogram on Western markets.
Sayed Hafizullah Saeedi, director of the Agricultural Ministry in Kandahar, says they are hopeful that saffron will swiftly replace opium poppies in the predominantly rural agricultural region.
For more than a decade, Kabul and international donors have helped Afghan farmers switch to saffron to stop their dependence on cultivating opium poppies, which were considered the best cash crop in the impoverished Afghanistan.
A UN survey recently revealed the overall area under opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan remains very large. According to the UN, the situation is expected to cause more instability and increase funding for terrorist groups while more high-quality, low-cost heroin reaches international markets.
The record opium production in Afghanistan has raised concerns in Iran and Pakistan.
The Pakistani capital on Wednesday hosted the 13th meeting of senior officials of the Triangular Initiative on drug control, a regional conference on countering opium cultivation.
During the meeting, participants expressed concern about the growing production of opium in Afghanistan, attributing it to insecurity and instability in the country.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Iran's Anti-Narcotics Police Chief Brigadier General Mohammed Masoud Zahedian said the opium production in Afghanistan has surged by 45 percent since the US invasion of the country in 2001.
Official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying that when the US invaded Afghanistan in 2001 the volume of opium production in the country was 200 tonnes, but now it has increased to 9,000 tonnes.
The official stressed that the US presence in Afghanistan has not only ruined peace in the country, but also increased terrorism and drug trafficking.
"It is evident that under the US presence, terrorism and drug trafficking have reached an alarming level in Afghanistan, which pose a great threat to the regional states," he added.
The Triangular Initiative was brokered in 2007 by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as complementary to peace-building efforts in the region.
It is promoting information exchange and encouraging joint field operations among Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan against drug trafficking networks and serious operatives.
Opium poppy cultivation, a favorite activity of the Taliban militants, used to be limited to certain parts of Afghanistan, but the surge in militancy and the government’s loss of grip on security has allowed it to spread to other parts of the country, particularly the north.
The US and its allies invaded Afghanistan 15 years ago to topple the Taliban regime but the militants have been regaining strength despite the continued presence of thousands of foreign forces.
Afghanistan's opium poppy harvest produces more than 90% of illicit heroin globally, and more than 95% of the European supply.
Source: Press TV
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