New to South Africa, saffron holds promise

Livestock farmer Joe Kroon turned to saffron in desperation when drought threatened his livelihood and, as this season's harvest winds down, he is encouraged by the potential of a new entry into South Africa's farming catalogue.

"Every year that we've planted, it's got better and better," said Kroon, who started growing the world's most expensive spice, mostly associated with Iran and Afghanistan, around five years ago with corms imported from The Netherlands.

With around one hectare (2.5 acres) under cultivation at his farm near the town of Graaf Reinet in the dry Karoo region, Kroon is among the few South African farmers pioneering cultivation of the delicate purple crocus and its precious red threads.

"Animals were dying and there's no help from the government so I had to find other means of making an income. I started researching and one of the things that came up was saffron," he told AFP.

"It sort of exponentially grows each year," he said. "At the end of this year, we're going to lift the crop and replant a bigger area."

His partner, Ross Blakeway, expects this season's yield could reach about six kilogrammes (13 pounds), around double the amount of last year. It takes about 150,000 flowers to collect a kilogramme of threads.

Porcupines and rabbits

Blakeway said output of their Karoo Saffron partnership is only for the domestic market, including local chefs and as an ingredient in a sauce and a Pure Karoo health range, although there had been some interest from Europe.

And while there is promise for South African saffron, it is not a "get rich quick", he said.

The corms are expensive and, "it's popular amongst the porcupines and rabbits, so you really have to protect your land," he said.

Saffricon, which says it is the largest commercial producer in South Africa with seven hectares, also began cultivation around five years ago.

In the process of finding the correct conditions, Saffricon moved several times before settling in the Piketberg area in the Western Cape, said the company's production coordinator, Tiaan Engelbrecht.

The company -- which also shares advice and trial packs to potential cultivators, from domestic gardeners to commercial farmers -- wants to build volume for local saffron to become a worthwhile export.

"It's been met with a lot of hope for being able to diversify the crops that are available in the country, especially for people who have smaller plots," Engelbrecht said, although there had been some scepticism too.

"It's just been absolutely wonderful to see people still being excited about growing the agriculture industry and being excited about new things," he said.

Source: AFP