Harvest of Greek saffron starts in Kozani
Farmers in the rural area of Kozani, northern
Greece, started harvesting “Krokos”, the local saffron produced by the
crocus flower, one of the most important products of the region which
have been cultivated for decades. Hundreds of farmers in the regions of Agia Paraskevi, Kesaria, Ano and
Kato Platania Voiou, are found bending over their crops, collecting
one-by-one the prized stems of the purple flower. It is a demanding and time-consuming job which can only be done
manually. One kilo of dried “Krokos” stems requires about 150,000 crocus
flowers. When the harvest ends, farmers and their workers must separate
the flower from the red stems, which are then left to dry naturally at
the local cooperative. The product is then packaged and sent to the
Greek or foreign market. “If things go well this year, we expect to increase our production to
about five tonnes, as we added another five hundred acres of young
farmers in the 5,000 acres already being cultivated," the president of
the “Krokos” association Nikos Patsiouras told ANA. ANA-MPA
Farmers in the rural area of Kozani, northern
Greece, started harvesting “Krokos”, the local saffron produced by the
crocus flower, one of the most important products of the region which
have been cultivated for decades. Hundreds of farmers in the regions of Agia Paraskevi, Kesaria, Ano and
Kato Platania Voiou, are found bending over their crops, collecting
one-by-one the prized stems of the purple flower. It is a demanding and time-consuming job which can only be done
manually. One kilo of dried “Krokos” stems requires about 150,000 crocus
flowers. When the harvest ends, farmers and their workers must separate
the flower from the red stems, which are then left to dry naturally at
the local cooperative. The product is then packaged and sent to the
Greek or foreign market. “If things go well this year, we expect to increase our production to
about five tonnes, as we added another five hundred acres of young
farmers in the 5,000 acres already being cultivated," the president of
the “Krokos” association Nikos Patsiouras told ANA. ANA-MPA
