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KABUL (SW) – The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock has announced that 19,469 kg of saffron crops have been harvested from the cultivated saffron plants this year.
Akbar Rustami, spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, said that this year over 7,555 hectares of saffron have been cultivated and production has increased by about 22% compared to last year.
According to him, last year 6,272 hectares of land were cultivated with saffron and 16 tons of saffron were harvested.
According to the Ministry, Herat, Balkh, Faryab, Kandahar, Uruzgan, Daikundi and Sar-e Pul have the highest production of saffron respectively. The highest yield of saffron came from Herat province, which reached 7,000 hectares.
Increased areas of cultivation, improved services such as training of farmers, distribution of good quality seeds and establishment of saffron display farms are the main reasons for increased saffron production in the country.
The Ministry spokesman added that 100 samples of saffron produced this year have been tested in the country's standard laboratories for quality assurance, which have been proven to exceed the international standards.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture this year, saffron farmers will earn more than $ 5 million for their hard work.
ENDS
