Farmer Celebrates Export Sale of Saffron Bumper Crop

“USAID/NOA really hit the spot with bringing in the European buyers.”

~ Imer Duraku, 45, saffron grower who struggled earlier to find a market for his saffron, prized for its color, aroma and taste.

Everyone contributes to the harvest and processing - Saffron grower Duraku and his wife separating stigmas from bulbs.

Pricey spice diversifies local agricultural output, creating jobs and profits

A pioneer in the reintroduction of saffron farming is celebrating the sale of his entire second harvest of the pricey spice, as well as the windfall in profits the bumper crop generated.

Imer Duraku is one of eight Kosovo farmers to begin growing

Duraku with well managed field planted with saffron in Rahovec/Orahovac..

saffron in 2011 and ‘12 with the assistance of USAID. He planted 126,000 saffron bulbs—technically called corms—on a half-hectare plot of his farm in this village outside Rahovec/Orahovac, in southwestern Kosovo.

Duraku’s first harvest in 2012 yielded just 150 grams of saffron, and a disappointing 350 Euros in sales. In 2013, Duraku’s recently certified organic saffron operation produced 1,100 grams, a sevenfold gain, of the same area. USAID also assisted in his certification process.

Duraku quickly exported his entire 2013 harvest, selling it to a Belgian wholesale buyer for 3,850 Euros, or 3.5 Euros per gram. USAID, through its New Opportunities for Agriculture project, helped facilitate this and other export deals that have benefitted Kosovo’s saffron farmers.

“USAID/NOA really hit the spot with bringing in the European buyers,” said Duraku, 45, who had struggled earlier to find a market for his saffron, prized for its color, aroma and taste.

USAID and other donor programs reintroduced saffron cultivation to Kosovo following the 1998-’99 war. Historically, saffron had been grown in Kosovo since at least the 1500s. The small country in southeastern Europe currently has about 6.4 hectares planted in saffron. USAID, through the New Opportunities for Agriculture Program, directly supported the planting of half that area.

While saffron requires a large up-front investment, it is a perennial crop. As such, there is no recurring cost for seed as is the case with annual crops. On average, the saffron plant can blossom for up to eight years.

Furthermore, crocus fields yield ever-increasing volumes of saffron. A farmer can expect to produce up to six kilograms of dried spice from each hectare planted with saffron. Overall in 2012, Kosovo produced just five kilograms of saffron. The 2013 harvest, in contrast, yielded nine kilograms—a volume sure to grow further in the years to come. While Duraku still earns more growing carrots and onions, saffron should begin to account for a growing share of his income.

And unlike the conventional crops Duraku also grows, saffron is highly labor-intensive.

“But bear in mind that the heavy work is required for only about a month’s time,” said Duraku, who puts to work 10 people full-time during the fall saffron harvest.