to shift from opium poppies to other commodities appear to be having some success.
Multi-million-dollar programs aimed at offering farmers alternatives to poppy production are cropping up nationwide.
In western Herat province, near the border with Iran, purple crocus plants have slowly replaced pink poppies in some areas. Still, the benefits of swapping to saffron from opium are long term and farmers need to be convinced.
“Saffron requires confidence and patience because the output grows year by year, and it is not until Year Four that the plant is at the top of its production and income for the farmers,” Abdul Khaliq Stanikzai, Herat director of the Sanayee Development Organization, an Afghan aid group, told Agence France Presse.
The same is true of many other crops—from almonds to pomegranates, grapes, apples and wheat—being offered as alternatives to opium for the 85 percent of Afghans who live on the land.
Almost all the opium that feeds Iran’s huge number of addicts comes from Afghanistan. Iran long ago stopped almost all of the opium production in Iran, but it has been unable to close the border to Afghan opium.
Supported by drug gangs—who subcontract protection to Taliban gunmen—Afghan poppy growers have a guaranteed income, with fertilizer, water and cash advances from middlemen who also collect the opium paste.
Afghanistan produced around 3,600 tons of opium this year, only half of last year’s output, the UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has said. That drop was largely due to an infestation that killed many poppies.
But the value of the opium rose by 38 percent to $600 million at the farm gate, which could encourage farmers to boost cultivation next season.
The UN report put the value of opium output at five percent of Afghanistan’s gross domestic product (GDP) this year, more than six times the value of the wheat crop.
The ease of growing poppies in Afghanistan contrasts sharply with alternatives on offer, with farmers who do wish to switch often facing Taliban intimidation. While Iran constantly blames the United States and Britain for the poppy crop in Afghanistan, the vast bulk of the poppies are grown in areas where the Taliban flourish.
Washington is supporting agricultural development as an adjunct to the military effort to end the war, with USAID managing programs worth $1 billion to create jobs and boost incomes.
The returns on high-end cash crops look good and Agriculture Ministry spokesman Abdul Majeed Qarar said, “Every day more and more farmers express interest in growing saffron.” An area of Iran just across the border is the major Iranian saffron-growing area. A successful Afghan shift to saffron could push down the price of the product.
Afghanistan, however, is still a minnow in the market, competing with Iran, Italy, Spain, India, Greece, Azerbaijan and Morocco.
With help from the United States, France and the Netherlands, farmers from across Afghanistan are coming to Herat to learn the advantages of saffron.
Qarar told Agence France Presse, “The saffron growing season is from mid-September to mid-November, outside the normal cropping season. It is easy to grow and requires little water. And, of course, it brings in more income than poppies; farmers can earn $3,000 to $5,000 per hectare from opium, but saffron farmers, after three years, can make up to $30,000 per hectare.”
However, US agriculture officials have said that without processing, storage, transport and distribution facilities—not to mention markets—efforts to boost cash crop output could come to naught.
Qarar agreed. “Huge challenges still remain. To improve the quantity and quality of saffron we need saffron experts, we need laboratories to process saffron, research teams to work on how to improve the quality and quantity of saffron… everything.”