New to S 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 shown by the newest addition to South Africa’s agriculture catalogues.

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“Every year that we've planted, it’s got better and better,’ said Mr 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.