Saffron cultivation in the city of Khomein is a tedious effort
Anan added: The lack of a coherent and powerful organization, the state of packaging, the market and the high wages of the worker have made the production of this product of little benefit to the farmer.
Anan stated: Saffron is a suitable plant for water-scarce areas and in the current situation that Khomein city is suffering from drought crisis, it can be introduced as an alternative cultivation model, but when the harvest season arrives, the sad story of the city’s red gold marketing is repeated. Becomes.
The saffron growers of Khomein city continued: Saffron of Khomein city has a high quality in the country due to the type of soil, climatic conditions and essential oil, but due to the lack of a proper marketing system; Intermediaries buy this product at a cheap price from producers during the harvest season and even months before harvest, and sell it under a brand other than the city of Khomein inside and even outside Iran.
A farmer with a history of 11 years of saffron cultivation in Khomein city said: in conditions of water shortage, I turned to saffron cultivation because of the plant’s lack of need for water in summer.
Effat Jalali, who has been known as the exemplary saffron of Markazi province for many years in a row, added: Worker’s wages are high and due to the lack of a suitable market, I sold my product at low prices through intermediaries for several years.
I get more profit from retail, but due to the high cost of living, sometimes I have to sell my product back to brokers, he said.
He said: Every year, with the beginning of saffron flower harvest, the price of saffron fades and the products of saffron growers are sold at a low price, and after a few months, the prices multiply.
Jalali added: There is no support for saffron producers and the facilities that are paid are with high interest rates that no farmer can afford.
He, who is the head of the household, added: Through saffron cultivation, I provide for my and my daughter’s living expenses, and if I could have offered the product with proper packaging and health code, I would have received more profit.
He said: There are legal obstacles to get a health code because I have to have a shelter and a standard health status, which is not possible for me, so I continue to produce saffron as a home business.
Another saffron grower from Khomein said: I enjoy planting and harvesting saffron because with the beginning of harvesting this product, seasonal jobs will be created for rural girls and women, which will affect the household economy.
Hamed Eslami added: Although labor costs are high, but in case of proper packaging and marketing, saffron production is economical, but in this city, most users offer the product without packaging and bulk.
He stated: If the appropriate facilities were paid to the exploiters, they could offer a quality product of saffron with the brand of Khomein city with proper packaging and shape, and gain more profit.
Another working saffron in Khomein city said: the fluctuation of saffron prices, especially in the harvest season, has caused dissatisfaction among working saffron farmers.
Ruhollah Behdari added: Saffron is an important and strategic product, but it does not have a special trustee, and this important and strategic product, like other agricultural products such as wheat, should be supported so that traders’ hands can be cut short.
He added: Every year during the saffron harvest season, which begins in early November, brokers buy saffron at a cheap price and package the extracted saffron and sell it at a high price.
He continued: In order to support the producer, cheap facilities should be paid to them, but with the legal obstacles created for the exploiters, the facilities are not used.
The director of Khomein Agricultural Jihad also said: The saffron produced in Khomein city is famous inside and outside the country because it has a high quality due to the type of soil, climatic conditions and essential oil.
Ahmad Reza Jafari added: This high quality makes intermediaries and brokers think about pre-purchasing Khomeini saffron for more profit than months before the harvest season.
He continued: In the years of drought, when the income of farmers in this city has decreased significantly and they are facing economic problems, some farmers are forced to either sell their saffron products in advance or sell them in bulk and together to increase the high cost of living. To provide.
He said: Unfortunately, intermediaries not only buy Khomeini saffron products cheaply from producers, but also distribute them with a brand other than this city.
Jafari continued: Due to the droughts of recent years, it is recommended to use saffron as an alternative crop in areas with low water for optimal productivity because it does not need much water, but saffron should not be cultivated everywhere in the city because single agriculture The crop is doomed to failure, and every farmer must make the most of the minimum resources by managing the farm.
He added: Saffron workers in this city should work together and unite and create a union, company or organization to be more supported.
He said: in case of creating an organization, scattered capitals will be accumulated and by using bank facilities, the product can be distributed in the country and abroad with proper packaging and with Khomein brand.
He stated that the area under saffron cultivation in Khomein is 24 hectares and said: 108 kilograms of dried saffron were harvested from this area with an average of four and a half kilograms.
Khomein is located in the south of Markazi province in the first place in saffron production and this city is known as a favorable place for saffron cultivation and production with its susceptible soil and subtropical climate, mild winters and hot and dry summers.
The city of Ghorchi Bashi and the villages of Shahabieh, Varcheh and Khogan are areas in Khomein where farmers have planted saffron.
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