About Our Company !
Afghanistan has been imposed to a massive change in its agricultural products in the days after the Taliban Regime collapsed. This change has been counted to be a focus from opium cultivation to other products such as Saffron.
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 impoverished Afghanistan. Saffron cultivation has turned out to be a boon for rural women, who play a major role in harvesting its flowers and separating stigma. The environmental and climatic conditions for saffron are ideal in Afghanistan which makes Afghanistan to be among the world largest importers of Saffron; however; lack of standard process center specifically in the west of Afghanistan, has caused high trafficking of this products to the neighbors. Some of the saffron farmers dried their saffron in the open air or under sunshine, which affected the quality of the product. Establishment of a standard process center with laboratory for Saffron in the company would lead to higher and exportable product. The laboratory plays an important role in saffron quality testing. And with the use of labs, Afghan saffron can be exported to world markets in accordance with international standards.
In addition to testing quality, saffron diseases and labs in saffron farms are also identified by the laboratory and then examined.
The center provides a proper indoor space for farmers to process their saffron under appropriate hygienic conditions. That improves the export prospects for the final product.
The processing center has resulted in an increase in the yield of saffron and in a higher quality product compared to previous years. That way, the product has also fetched a higher price thanks to improved processing. Last year, farmers sold one kilogram of saffron for AFN 60,000 but this year the price increased to AFN 80,000 per kilogram, an increase of 25 percent by way of income. The saffron processing center has so far created job opportunities for ten women who fetch competitive daily earnings.
And the process center also reduces the cost of perceiving that the saffron flower has deteriorated or the saffron drying process due to the product not being processed at the right time and place with the right equipment, So establishing of process center will have a direct impact on development of cultivation, enhancing hygiene and boosting exports.
By creating a process center we can raise product quality levels and compete with international markets, results in increased saffron exports, and this has a positive impact on the country's economy. Managing the time of processing and packaging of materials by mechanizing the production process can minimize and save time. With the establishment of the Process Center, the production value is increased and will create jobs by hiring additional skilled and unskilled local labor.
This encourages the farmers to grow Saffron in a better qualified way. And, it will positively help the country`s economy by purchasing more Afghan/local saffron straight from the farmers and therefore, result in less importation of Saffron by traders. This will be a step forward to empower Afghanistan’s domestic plants and assist the agriculture sector to become self-sufficient by decreasing the import volume. And the goal of offering lower and acceptable prices to the end-customer will be achieved too.
1. Signing agreement with FAO
2. To purchase the equipment
3. Receives equipment from FAO
4. Establishment of new facilities
5. Creating jobs for 100 men and women
6. Processing Saffron
7. Packaging the product
8. Selling targeted markets
Saffron is an essential product which has a high rate of consumption, therefore; this practice makes Saffron an essential and important source of spice in Afghanistan. This fact is the main cause of demand and therefore sustainability of Saffron supplies to our company. On the other hand, agriculture remains Afghanistan’s most important source of employment. Most Afghan farmers are primarily subsistence farmers. Thus, agriculture is critical to Afghanistan’s food security and is a driver of economic
growth. As the consistent high quality of our Saffron product is a key feature of our philosophy; quality control is an essential part of producing process. We are coordinated with Herat Agriculture Department which lets us to use their laboratories for observing the quality of the products consistently. The equipment will directly have positive effect on sustaining the producing stream of Saffron with a better hygienic product. The process center also helps in creating jobs for almost more than 250 people.