Increasing the area of saffron cultivation in Zanjan province
The director of horticulture affairs of Zanjan Jihad-e-Agriculture Organization announced the increase of Zanjan saffron cultivation area to 71 hectares.
Behnam Ojaqloo, stating that saffron cultivation in different parts of the province is on the agenda of the organization, said: Currently, more than 46 hectares of land in Zanjan province are under saffron cultivation.
But last year, 23 hectares of it reached the fruiting stage and yielded 50 kg; In fact, Zanjan province has 344 pieces of saffron cultivated and we hope that the fruit levels will increase significantly in the coming years.
The official, referring to the holding of saffron cultivation training classes for 52 farmers and three experts, continued: The saffron needed in Zanjan province is supplied from the northern provinces and Razavi and southern Khorasan.
Of course, supplying saffron onions is also a difficult task and has its own sensitivities; Because onions must be obtained from fields free of pests and diseases. Therefore, the support company in the province tracks healthy farms and distributes them in the province by purchasing the desired onion.
He stated that the onion needed to cultivate saffron per hectare is four to five tons and added: the cost of supplying saffron onion per hectare is 250 million rials, which will increase to 300 million rials taking into account other costs. Of course, it has been decided that a memorandum of understanding will be signed with Omid Entrepreneurship Bank by September, in order to provide cheap facilities to saffron growers.
Emphasizing that the useful life of saffron is eight to nine years, Ojaqloo stated: Saffron is a perennial plant and can be used up to 15 years after cultivation. This is while the third year after cultivation is the peak time of saffron production. Saffron farms in Zanjan province are also in the early years of production and produce an average of 2 kg per hectare. Of course, this amount will increase to 3 kg in the coming years.
The director of horticulture affairs of Zanjan Jihad-e-Agriculture Organization, stating that the time of saffron harvest is October 6 to November 6, noted: It is predicted that 25 hectares of farms in Zanjan province (100 pieces) will be allocated for saffron cultivation this year.
Get Social