Governor opens saffron farming project in Chitral

CHITRAL: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Shah Farman Saturday inaugurated a saffron cultivation project in Drosh town of Lower Chitral district.

The governor also inspected the locally grown saffron crop in different areas of Drosh.

The governor was given a detailed briefing by the Agriculture Department officials regarding the high potential of saffron cultivation.

He was informed that 90,0000 acres of land in the province, including district Chitral, Dir, Swat, Shangla, Battagram, Kohistan, Bajaur, Waziristan, Kurram, Orakzai and Khyber, had a huge potential to cultivate saffron and it would generate Rs1 thousand billion revenue after successful completion of this project.

Talking to media and local farmers, the governor said that saffron cultivation project would not only alleviate poverty in the province but would also reduce unemployment?

“It would also increase the country’s foreign exchange, which would also strengthen the national economy,” he added.

“This project has been successful not only in Drosh but also in the whole Chitral. And after the success of the pilot project, our goal is to cultivate it throughout the region,” he added

He said that saffron cultivation was very easy because it would take only two months to get ready.

Referring to the Department of Agriculture, the governor said that for the first time in history a government had allocated a huge budget to the department to deliver.

“And special attention has been given to cultivation of saffron and olive because of the high potential of these sectors,” he added.

The governor termed the saffron cultivation project as a plan for the development and prosperity of the people of Chitral and said that the government would provide all resources to local people like provision of seeds and introducing and exporting them to international markets.