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A promising sector.
The national strategy for the organization, development and generalization of saffron culture in Algeria was launched this Monday, at the National School of Agronomy (ENSA). A promising sector which is based on scientific research, training and interdepartmental cooperation, in order to diversify the agricultural sector but also to position the Algerian saffron in international markets.
The Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries, Youcef Cherfa, said, on this occasion, that the launch of the national strategy for the cultivation of saffron is an essential step in the structuring and valuation of the sector, welcoming the considerable work carried out by research and training institutions, including the National Institute for Forest Research, for the revival of the Safran sector.
For his part, the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Kamel Baddari, highlighted the contribution of this project to the realization of diversified agriculture. According to him, the saffron has considerable economic and social value. In this sense, he insisted on the need to enhance scientific research, to develop an industry around this product and to promote its marketing, both on the local and international market. He also praised the inter -ministerial cooperation which accompanies this initiative.
These efforts have resulted in the implementation of a specific technical route, experiments on the adaptation of this culture to the various climates of the country, as well as by the formation of dozens of producers from several wilayas. The Minister also paid tribute to the producers who, by taking up the challenge, contributed to the financing and promoting this promising culture.
The Algerian Safran experience dates back to 2009. It started in the wilaya of Khenchela, after the loss of apple orchards, with the aim of diversifying crops and improving farmers’ income. Ten pilot sites had then been arranged, recalled Morsli Boutkhil, research master at the National Institute for Forest Research (INRF) in Tlemcen.
Faced with the success encountered, local demand quickly widened to reach 29 wilayas in 2018. A second project was launched in 2019 to improve performance and reduce the arduous work thanks to the use of raised metal containers and machines. This system allowed a productivity increase of 300 %, reaching 20 kg per hectare.
Today, the Algerian saffron meets international standards (ISO 3236), a guarantee of quality which opens the way to export, while global demand has experienced annual growth of 7 to 8 % since 2021. The platform of the Development Center for Advanced Technologies (CDTA) already lists more than 200 producers across the country, confirming the anchoring of this promising sector.
In the same context, a cooperation agreement was signed between the higher education and scientific research sector, represented by the ENSA and the scientific and technical research center in arid regions, and the agriculture, rural development and fishing sector, represented by the National Center for Forest Research and the National Center for the Control and Certification of Semences and Plants. This agreement relates to the certification of the technical route of saffron, an essential condition for guaranteeing its production and export, while ensuring the continuing education of actors in the sector.
At the end of the ceremony, the two ministers visited the central farm of the National School of Agronomy. They followed presentations on the key stages of saffron culture, before giving the symbolic kick -off to the planting of bulbs.