The Key Point Here is “Water”
Hamed Pakteynat, in a post on his personal page, wrote:
[Saudi Arabia], using artificial lighting, vertical farming, smart water control, and without needing soil, can produce saffron flowers in just 10 days!
Previously, they imported $20 million worth of saffron annually, a significant portion of which came from our Iran. Now, with this method, they might even become saffron exporters themselves.
The key point here is water.
In Iran, we cultivate saffron through flood irrigation, and each hectare requires 5,000 cubic meters of water annually. In contrast, this new method requires only 150 cubic meters per hectare, resulting in over 97% water savings.
Even more astonishing is that four saffron harvests per year become possible.
Let’s learn water governance from the Arabs.
