As extended droughts continue to change the agricultural landscape throughout South Africa, some farmers in the country are starting to grow saffron.

South Africa has begun cultivating saffron, one of the world's most expensive spices, with farmers like Benny Engelbrecht pioneering the industry. The country's dry, arid regions provide suitable conditions for saffron, and local companies have developed programs to support new growers. While Iran remains the dominant global producer, South Africa is carving out a niche, supplying both local and, increasingly, international markets.

The process of growing and harvesting saffron is labor-intensive, requiring significant manual effort and yielding high returns per kilogram. The industry is seen as a potential source of income and employment, especially in regions affected by drought. South African producers are optimistic about building a national brand and integrating into the global saffron market, leveraging the country's agricultural track record.

Cultivating the world’s costliest spice in South Africa

South Africa is cultivating a new gold mine, saffron. There is something very, very special about it. In 2013, Benny Engelbrecht began to farm this luxury crop, which is often dubbed red gold because of how expensive it is. When I started growing, I didn't know of any other grower that was growing saffron. The potential in it is absolutely enormous. According to research in markets, the global saffron market is expected to reach nearly $1.1 billion by 2030. Saffron is very expensive, and in fact, one of the costliest spices in the world. The reason for it is, one, because of the limited quantity. You have a few countries that can actually produce saffron. Iran, for example, arguably produces over 80% of the global saffron supplies. And then the other aspect is the quality. So you have limited supply and the quality, as well as this growing demand for it. According to Salobo, South Africa currently stands as the only commercial saffron producer in sub-Saharan Africa. While still a nascent industry, the nation's dry and arid regions offer ideal conditions for cultivating this valuable spice, which requires very little space to grow. You could have a high-income crop on a small piece of land that can elevate you to the next level. For me, the focus was on establishing a new agricultural commodity in South Africa to give other people also the opportunity to be part of this amazing race. To expand the local industry, Saffrican has developed an outgrower program, one that includes selling saffron seeds to interested parties and supporting them in their growth. Our approach at Saffrican is that make sure it works before you put money behind it. That said, it's also very important to remember that this is not a get-rich-quick crop. It takes time to give a proper yield. Over the past four years, Benny's farm has meticulously cultivated seven kilograms of saffron, which they currently supply to the local market at around $14 a gram. It's a slow and delicate process. According to Engelbrecht, producing just one kilogram of saffron requires approximately 150,000 flowers and 450,000 hand-picked threads. The harvest itself is a labor-intensive process occurring only three weeks a year. Think about in fruit farming, such as blueberries, you typically employ about three to four people per hectare. But with saffron, if we can be able to plant and plant it at scale, we could get about 12 people per hectare. And I think that will be a game-changer when it comes to the job opportunities, especially in areas that have relied on a few agricultural value chains. Despite the arduous process of harvesting the crop, these red threads are emerging as a remarkably sustainable crop in a climate facing longer and hotter droughts. Back in 2018, it was a terrible drought and animals were dying. And I said to Joe, let's try and take this challenge and put it into an opportunity. For the owners of Karu Saffron, diversifying from livestock farming into saffron production has paid off. The company has already produced 10 kilograms of the valuable spice and is now poised to enter the international export market. One of the reasons for catering to the Northern Hemisphere is that it's traditionally grown in the Northern Hemisphere. So as it is an autumn product, their harvest is only going to be starting once ours is finished. So it's this continuity of supply to the market. At around $14,000 per kilogram, the export market continues to be lucrative. The company also says they've seen demand continue to rise as consumers seek out natural ingredients in pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications, which the owners' team has also been developing. What excites me about growing saffron in the future in South Africa, the potential is that we can create a brand out of South Africa. We are the new kids in the block when it comes to saffron because just a few years ago, we were receiving our first significantly bigger harvest as a country. So we remain small there. You still see the likes of Iran, Greece, India, Turkey dominating the saffron market. But I would bang and say South Africa is likely to be a success because look at what we have been able to do with red meats, with fruit, with wine. We have been able to integrate ourselves in the world market. And I think with saffron, there is a blueprint. We have to ensure that in a domestic market, we are able to produce the quality that the world market would appreciate.

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