GHAZNI - Demanding saffron cultivation training, farmers say they will grow the lucrative crop next year if a pilot project yields positive results in Ghazni province.

A farmer in Khwaja Umari district, Gulabuddin, who used his 1.5 acres of land farming saffron on a trial basis last year, said the yield had been satisfactory and he planned to grow the crop next year on most of his farmland.

“We need information and training on how to cultivate and protect saffron crops,” he said, adding if the agriculture department assisted farmers in cultivating saffron, the move would help improve their economic situation.

A farmer in Deh Yak district, Akhtar Mohammad, said the agriculture department should distribute saffron seeds to farmers in order to encourage the crop’s cultivation. “Other farmers started cultivating saffron after my cultivation gave a positive result,” he claimed.

Agriculture Director Sultan Hussain Abasyar also said pilot saffron projects had been a success in Ghazni, where 60 tons of saffron yields were expected next year.

He said the agriculture department planned to distribute 400 booklets detailing method of cultivating the crop to educate farmers.

The director promised arranging a training course for farmers to learn how to grow the plant, seen as alternative to poppy crops.

Source: Awoshtoon Radio (Paktya)