Combined Joint Task Force - 82 PAO

Story by Pfc. Elizabeth Raney

LAGHMAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan — The Laghman Agri-business Development Team along with local and government officials from Laghman province participated in a ceremony to introduce the profitable crop, saffron, to the province at the Laghman Agricultural Research and Development Center in Mehtar Lam district, Sept. 29.

Saffron is a type of crocus, deep orange in color, and is typically ground up and used as a cooking spice or food colorant.

Laghman's Director of Agriculture, Mohammad Ismail Dowlatzai, expressed gratefulness for the introduction of saffron and thanked the ADT and the Associate Professor, Massood Sayeed, from Kabul University, for their efforts.

"This is a great day for Laghmanis and I hope this will bring prosperity for our people," he said.

Lt. Col. Roger Beekman, of the Laghman ADT, said the people of Laghman will benefit greatly from the introduction of the saffron.

"This is a monumental occasion for Laghmanis, and it all starts right here," he said. "We are growing Laghman's future one seed at a time."

Sayeed planted the first corm, an underground stem base that stores food over the winter and produces new foliage in the spring, and said that saffron had been introduced in other parts of Afghanistan such as Herat, but this is the first time that the crop had been introduced in Laghman.

The team has high hopes for saffron and believes that the rate of success in Laghman is very good considering it is located in a fertile valley known for producing some of the finest crops in Afghanistan.

Sayeed said many local farmers have expressed interest in the product and he is working to form an association to help market and build knowledge about saffron.

He said saffron was very promising because it was considered more valuable than poppies and it is relatively easy to grow, requiring little water, which is especially good considering Afghanistan's often drought-like conditions.

"This location is to test the saffron to see if it will grow here," Sayeed said. "The first harvest should be ready in about forty days and we hope to be able to have daughter corms, for next season, produced from this crop."

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