A workshop on association management and administration was held for the saffron association’s members of the Red Gold project, which aims to improve livelihoods through saffron cultivation in Balkh province.
The Training was conducted to enable board members of saffron growers’ associations (including directors, deputy directors, secretary, treasurer, and marketer) from five targeted districts to learn about the formation, administration, and management of their associations, make their associations a unifying platform to promote their saffron products and improve their market linkage and position in the markets.
In this five-day training workshop, the participants were trained on the management of associations, record keeping, marketing, supply chain management, value addition, responsible business conduct, taxes and their laws, and child labor topics, along with agricultural subjects about saffron: introduction of saffron, economic value of saffron and its climate requirements, land preparation, animal fertilizer application, corm selection criteria, cultivation methods, irrigation of saffron, soil surface breaking, pest control, and weed control, flower collecting, processing, and packaging.
In the next step, using the knowledge gained, saffron association boards will manage the saffron association and improve the production and marketing of five district-level saffron associations in Nahri Shahi, Balkh, Chimtal, Chahar Bolak, and Dawlat Abad districts of Balkh province.
These associations will help saffron farmers manage and strengthen the processes of cultivation and production, market promotion, and linkage, as well as provide a platform for their joint decisions and development plans.
