Saffron planting has begun this year in five districts of Kandahar to implement an alternative livelihood program and prevent poppy cultivation.
Mohammad Hanif Haqmal, spokesperson for the Directorate of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock of Kandahar, told Bakhtar News Agency that this directorate, as part of the alternative livelihood and poppy prevention program, has distributed 56 tons of saffron seeds to dozens of farmers in the districts of Khakrez, Nesh, Maroof, Daman, and Miyanshin.
He added that the program will be implemented with a budget of over seven million Afghanis from the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock.
The directorate also organized a two-day training seminar for farmers to increase saffron yields in the province.
Meanwhile, several farmers expressed satisfaction with receiving improved saffron seeds and requested continued support from the agriculture department officials.
It is worth noting that under this program, in previous years, pistachio orchards were established and legume seeds distributed in the districts of Shawalikot Bala, Shawalikot Payin, Nesh, and Miyanshin, with financial cooperation from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
