Afghan farmers ditch opium for saffron - good news

[ensho]

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KF25Df01.html


Abdul Samad has given up growing poppies. The farmer from Gulmir, from a village in Pashtun Zarghon district of Herat province, has found monetary and spiritual benefits in switching to saffron.

"I always felt sinful when I was growing poppies," he said. "The money brought me no joy, and did not allow me to change my life."

In 2007, Afghanistan supplied more than 90% of the world's opium poppy, the raw material for heroin.

Abdul Samad grew the illegal crop for five years until a new government program helped him make the switch to saffron, the world's most expensive spice.

"I make more money than I used to," he said. "With poppy, I got between US$400 and $600 for each jerib of land. Now I make more than US$5,000." A jerib is approximately half an acre.

Saffron is prized for its taste and color, and is used in food and dyes. People in Herat use it to brew tea when they can afford it. Even locally, a small five-gram knot of the substance costs close to US$25, a bit pricey for villagers making no more than $200 per month.

But saffron is catching on. Bashir Ahmad Ahmadi, head of the marketing department for Herat's Department of Agriculture, estimates that the province now has 212 hectares planted in saffron, with annual production approaching 50-70 tonnes. This may be miniscule compared to the 7,700 tonnes of opium that Afghanistan produced from 157,000 hectares in 2008, but it is a start.

-very long snip about history of saffron growing and competition with Iran, etc.-
----------------------------

[tridim]

1. Cannabis would be a good non-toxic crop for them to grow as well. nt

[ensho]

2. they already do - its super

nt

[tridim]

3. Yea, I know.

But they can't legally ship it anywhere because it's apparently worse than opium.

IMO they should be free to ship Afghani hash all over the world.

[SammyWinstonJack]

6. Industrial hemp.

[lindisfarne]

16. Saffron's pretty environmentally friendly

From the link:
The government of Herat, with assistance from the local, Italian-led Provincial Reconstruction Team, began to distribute saffron bulbs free of charge to those willing to make the switch. Saffron grows well in Herat's hot, dry climate, say farmers. It is also easier and cheaper to grow and harvest than poppy.

"Saffron does not need a lot of water," said Abdul Qader. "It does not need a lot of fertilizer, and you need fewer people to harvest it." Also, he added, the bulbs, once planted, are productive for six years.

[EC]

4. Good I like saffron

used to like opium too, but not as much as saffron...really good in cream soups.

[jmowreader]

5. Another nice thing about saffron--it's labor intensive

According to Wikipedia (yes, I know) it requires 150,000 saffron flowers to produce one kilo of finished saffron. Someone has to sit there and open each one of those flowers by hand to remove the stigmas, which are then dried to produce the spice.

Although I have some hesitation in believing saffron is The Answer to the opium problem in Afghanistan, it's part of the answer and that's good.

[guitar man]

7. I'm just mad about Saffron

...and she's just mad about me :D

[TexasProgresive]

8. Mellow Man mellow yellow n/t

[MadHound]

9. Sounds to me like we're subsidizing saffron production in the area

I mean really now, $10,000/acre for saffron as opposed to $1,200/acre for opium. That sounds like some pretty bogus economics.

And unless we're willing to subsidize all the farmers in the area, poppies are going to continue to be the crop of choice in the neighborhood for the foreseeable future, especially now that the CIA has some serious access in the region.

[lindisfarne]

11. You didn't factor in all the costs related to addiction, drug wars, etc. Farmers get more of the

money because there don't have to be as many middle men as with opium. Good foreign relations tactic.

[Stevenmarc]

10. Book me a room in the Betty Ford Paella wing

[WillyT]

12. Have You Ever Tried To Smoke Saffron ???

Expensive...

:evilgrin:

[SoCalDem]

13. I LOVE saffron.. I once scored THREE sprigs of it for $12.00

I was thrilled.. It was probably "old", but I'm not that much of a food-snob, so I made saffron rice with it and thouroughly enjoyed it:)

[lindisfarne]

14. Anyone know how to make saffron tea? Is it milk based? n/t

[SoCalDem]

17. Iranian saffron recipes

:)

http://www.saffronexporter.ir/iran-fruits-dried/saffron/saffron-cake.php

Cake - Saffron

Cornish saffron cake is made to celebrate Easter. Saffron corms were traded in exchange for tin, with seafaring Phoenicians. The saffron was bought and sold in Drachmas.
Russians also make a saffron cake at Easter called Kulich. Where a little saffron and raisins, chopped nuts, and candied fruit are added to a normal pound cake mixture.
Saffron Tea

Persian saffron teaTea sometimes referred to as an infusion or "steeping" saffron. This is exactly the same principle you use in making any tea - the longer the saffron steeps, the stronger its flavor, aroma and color.
Where saffron preparation differs from tea is that you can release saffron effectively in hot liquid such as water, broth or milk or in room temperature white wine, vodka, rosewater, orange blossom water, white vinegar or citrus juice.
In other words, saffron's chemicals respond positively to hot liquid or room temperature alcohol and acids (citrus).

The amount of liquid is not important; use whatever is called for in your recipe or adds just a teaspoon or two of hot water to a recipe, which will not harm it.
Then put the threads or powdered saffron in the liquid and leave it for a minimum of 20 minutes before you add this "tea" to the recipe. Do not remove the saffron threads from the liquid.
They continue to release aroma, flavor and color for up to 24 hours which is why affronted dishes and breads always taste even stronger as leftovers. With more flavor, aroma and color release than you would otherwise have, steeping saffron is the most economical way to use this spice.

Once you get comfortable cooking and baking with saffron, you will find the longer you steep your saffron, the less you will need per recipe.
A special note about toasting saffron: do not do it! It is unnecessary to dry saffron any further because it has already been processed to exactly the right dryness for either steeping or crushing into powder.
The only reason you might read elsewhere that saffron threads should be further dried prior to use is that lower grade saffron may contain too much moisture for good release of its aroma, color and flavor.

more history & recipes

[EFerrari]

15. What a great idea. CIA must be pissed.

[lindisfarne]

18. Cutting into their profits? n/t

[Flaneur]

19. Not necessarily good news.

The Taliban is supposedly sitting on a stockpile of 8,000 TONS of opium, which is probably a two-year supply of smack for every junkie on the planet. Decreased opium production will drive up prices, making the Taliban's stash worth even more.

[AntiFascist]

20. What about all the opiate derivatives no one seems to talk about...

morphine, oxycontin, etc. among them. I've read reports of industrial type distribution by way of Turkey, etc. I realize there is a huge demand for heroin, but isn't there also a huge demand for the standard drugs, whether or not they get used illegally?