Value

Chain Governance and Gender:

Saron Produc;on in Afghanistan

Afghanistan Public Policy Research Organiza;on

November 2010

Acknowledgements
The research for this paper was made possible through support from the World Bank, the Interna;onal Development Research
Centre (IDRC) and the Danish CommiPee for Aid to Afghan Refugees (DACAAR). The annotated bibliography and the literature
review for the analy;cal framework developed for this paper are published as Understanding Gender in Agricultural Produc3on:
An Annotated Bibliography for the Case of Afghanistan and Understanding Gender in Agricultural Produc3on: A Review of the
Literature and a Conceptual Framework, available from APPROs website at: www.appro.org.af

About the Authors

The APPRO team responsible for this research are Saeed Parto (Director of Research) and Rozbih Mihran (Researcher). APPRO
expresses its sincere thanks to the World Bank team for their feedback on the various draTs of this paper.
Saeed Parto is Director of Research at Afghanistan Public Policy Research Organiza;on. He holds a doctorate in Human
Geography from the University of Waterloo (Ontario, Canada) and specializes in policy and ins;tu;onal analysis in developed
and developing countries. His recent work includes analysis of policy and ins;tu;onal change in development coopera;on,
waste management, and technological transi;ons and innova;on. Dr. Parto is also Lecturer at the Faculty of Arts and Social
Sciences, Maastricht University, the Netherlands.

Rozbih Mihran is Researcher at Afghanistan Public Policy Research Organiza;on. His areas of focus are Natural Resource and
Environmental Management and Poli;cal Economy.

About APPRO
The Afghanistan Public Policy Research Organiza;on (APPRO) is an independent social research organiza;on promo;ng social
and policy learning to benet development and reconstruc;on eorts in Afghanistan. APPRO is registered with the Ministry of
Economy (Registra;on Number: 1212) as a not-for-prot, non-government organiza;on and headquartered in Kabul,
Afghanistan. APPROs mission is to measure development progress against strategic reconstruc;on objec;ves and provide
insights on how to improve performance against the milestones set by the government of Afghanistan and the interna;onal
donors. APPRO is staed by personnel with many years of collec;ve experience in various facets of development and scien;c
research.
APPRO takes full responsibility for all omissions and errors.

(c) 2010. Afghanistan Public Policy Research Organiza;on. Some rights reserved. This publica;on may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmiPed only for non-commercial purposes and with
wriPen credit to APPRO and the authors. Where this publica;on is reproduced, stored or transmiPed
electronically, a link to APPROs website www.appro.org.af should be provided. Any use of this
publica;on falling outside of these permissions requires prior wriPen permission and can be sought by
emailing mail@appro.org.af or by calling +93 700 538 081.

Glossary
AISA

Afghanistan Investment Support Agency

APPRO

Afghanistan Public Policy Research Organiza;on

ANDS

Afghanistan Na;onal Development Strategy

CSO

Central Sta;s;cs Oce

DACAAR

Danish CommiPee for Aid to Afghan Refugees

DfID
EPAA

UK Department for Interna;onal Development

Export Promo;on Agency of Afghanistan

FAO

Food and Agriculture Organiza;on

GoA

Government of Afghanistan

ICARDA

Interna;onal Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas

IDRC

Interna;onal Development Research Centre

INGO

Interna;onal Non-Governmental Organiza;on

MAIL

Ministry of Agriculture, Irriga;on and Livestock

MCN

Ministry of Counter Narco;cs

MFI

Micro Finance Ins;tu;on

MISFA
NSCSC

Micronance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan

Na;onal Saron Coordina;on and Support CommiPee

PRT

Provincial Reconstruc;on Team

RALF

Research Alterna;ve Livelihood Fund

SDO

Sanayee Development Organiza;on

UNIFEM

United Na;ons Development Fund for Women

USAID

US Agency for Interna;onal Development

ii

Table of Contents

Execu;ve Summary



1. Introduc;on



2. Objec;ves



3. Methodology



4. Gender in/and Value Chains: A Framework
5. Saron Value Chain

1
5
7
7
8
10

5.1 Produc;on of Saron

14

5.2 Plan;ng Saron

16

5.3 Harves;ng Flowers

17

5.4 Processing Saron

17

5.5 Packaging and Branding

5.6 Trading Saron

18
19

5.7 Women and Saron Produc;on

21

6. Key Findings from the Case Study

25

7. Conclusion

27

8. Summary of Key Findings and Recommenda;ons

24

References

26

Appendix 1: Saron Value Chain Actor Map

31

Appendix 2. List of Organiza;ons Interviewed

32

Box 1. En;tlements and Capabili;es Approach (Excerpts from Gammage et al. [2005])

10

Box 2. Typology of Ins;tu;ons

List of Boxes

11

Box 3. Saron Planta;on Site Requirements

12

Box 4. A Case of Chain Governance

20

24

15

Figure 1: Average Price of Saron in Herat Market per kg of Saron in $US.

15

Figure 2. Costs and Values of Domes;c Packaged Retails Saron

19

21

Box 5. Summary of Key Problems and Constraints for Saron Farmers in Afghanistan
List of Tables
Table 1: Actors and Processes in the Saron Value Chain

List of Figures

Figure 3. Costs and Values of Unpackaged Export for Packaged Foreign Retail Saron

iii

List of Photos
Photo 1: Saron Bulb

12

Photo 2: Saron Plant

12

Photo 3: Saron S;gmas

22

22

Photo 4: Women Harves;ng Saron S;gmas

iv

Execu;ve Summary

Afghanistan has compara;ve and compe;;ve strengths in the agriculture sector, par;cularly in the
hor;culture and livestock sub-sectors, in which women are known to par;cipate largely in
produc;on and processing. Orchard fruits fresh or dried are one of the key sectors in export
growth, while poultry products (both eggs and meat) can subs;tute for imports, which amount to
US$ 78.2 million per annum. In the non-farm sector, carpets are one of Afghanistans key export
products, produced mostly by women and their children in their homes. Un;l the late 1970s
Afghanistan supplied 20% of the raisins on the global market, held a dominant posi;on in pistachio
and dried fruit produc;on, and produced livestock and wool products for the regional markets. The
intermiPent periods of conict since the late 1970s combined with periodic droughts have resulted
in loss of agriculturally produc;ve land and weakened produc;ve capacity due to ight of capital,
displacement of framing communi;es, neglect of irriga;on channels, diminished technical and
market support and, ul;mately, loss of market share.
The percentage of women involved in agricultural produc;on is es;mated at 65% of the agricultural
workforce. Women carry out the bulk of the value-adding ac;vi;es as domes;c chores while the
trading and marke;ng of nished agricultural products are carried out almost exclusively by men
who are also the main nancial beneciaries of the process. Two Key factors contribu;ng to these
inequitable arrangements are gender bias based on deeply ingrained cultural norms and the highly
informal agricultural economy.
This study was undertaken to iden;fy constraints and explore opportuni;es for women to
par;cipate and improve their posi;on in various stages of saron produc;on. The ndings reported
in this paper are based on primary data collected through interviews with key informants and focus
group discussions and secondary data from a review of the exis;ng literature on agricultural value
chains, value chain analysis, and gender in/and agricultural development. The review of the
literature was used to develop an analy;cal framework to examine gender in/and value chain
dynamics in the case of saron produc;on.1
An extensive review was carried out to take stock of the available literature on agricultural
produc;on, value chain analysis, and gender in/and agricultural produc;on.2 This study is centered
on saron and the site of study is mainly Herat, supplemented with interviews with key informants
drawn from commercial actors such as input suppliers, processors, nancial and other service
providers, traders, wholesalers, retailers, exporters, buyers and middlemen involved in export to

_____________________________________________________________________________________

1 See Appendices 1 and 2 for the key informant and focus group par:cipant details and the codes used to cite them in this report.
2 See Understanding Gender in Agricultural Produc:on: A Review of the Literature and a Conceptual Framework and Understanding
Gender in Agricultural Produc:on: and Annotated Bibliography for the Case of Afghanistan, available at: hKp://www.appro.org.af/
Publica:ons.html

markets such as India, Pakistan, Iran, and UAE. The ins;tu;onal actors at the local level included
provincial and district government oces, provincial Chambers of Commerce, and NGOs and aid
agencies involved in the saron value chain and womens socio-economic development. Ins;tu;onal
actors at the na;onal level were drawn from governmental ministries, donors, aid agencies, and
NGOs which support women in trade, and private sector organiza;ons involved in business
development support for both men and women such as business associa;ons and Micronance
Ins;tu;ons (MFIs).

Summary of Key Findings and Recommenda;ons

Saron is suited to the semi-desert and rugged ecology of Afghanistan, par;cularly in the western
provinces, the northeast (Badakhshan), Central (Laghman, Panjshir, and Wardak), and some
Southern (Hellmand, Kandahar, Uruzgan, and Zabul) regions. The success experienced in the Herat
province has much to oer as far as learning for other ecologically comparable provinces throughout
Afghanistan.
There is increasing awareness among the interna;onal aid agencies and Provincial Reconstruc;on
Teams about the untapped poten;al of saron as a legi;mate, lucra;ve, and alterna;ve means to
generate livelihood for a large number of rural communi;es. The eorts to build the saron farming
sectors have come from Iran, Turkey, The Netherlands, United States, and Denmark and have
involved collabora;on with academic ins;tu;ons such as Herat and Kabul Universi;es and the
Ministry of Agriculture, Irriga;on and Livestock. Eorts to consolidate these ini;a;ves need to be
intensied.
Growing poppy for receiving cash from illegi;mate sources or for the purpose of producing drugs for
recrea;onal use is not approved of tradi;onally or by Islam. This prevalent cogni;ve ins;tu;on
needs to be fully tapped into to switch poppy growers to saron. However, if saron is to be used as
a means to ght poppy cul;va;on and as a source of much needed income in rural communi;es,
macro-measures need to be put in place to create an enabling environment for the saron
entrepreneurs to establish themselves through being protected from unfair compe;;on by other
newcomers to the saron market such as Australia, China, and Turkey.
Saron cannot be seen as the panacea for all of Afghanistans agricultural / livelihood / gender /
drug problems despite its great poten;al. However, much can be done to mainstream the crop by
increasing human capital, technology appropria;on, quality standardiza;on, and marke;ng.
Women, even those who run their own businesses, are largely excluded from the higher stages of
the saron value chain. This is due to inequitable chain governance and the tradi;onally structured
saron sector. In the absence of structures for a more equitable system of governance, the only

immediate prac;cal op;on is to work toward crea;ng a cri;cal mass of networked women
producers who could contend in the market collec;vely.
There are fewer possibili;es at the lower stages of the value chain for gender mainstreaming except,
perhaps, labour market reform to pay women a fair wage for equal work with men. Such reform is,
however, a func;on of macro socio-economic and poli;cal factors and beyond the immediate reach
or control of the chain actors.
Lessons other than acquiring technical exper;se are to be learned from the main saron producer,
Iran. Allegedly, Iran inten;onally exports 85 percent of its saron to Europe unprocessed and
unpackaged so the saron could be sold on interna;onal markets as having been produced in Spain
or the United Arab Emirates. While the analysis of this behaviour is beyond the scope of this
research, it is clear that Afghanistan need not, at least immediately, concentrate on maximizing its
domes;c value adding capacity but can benet from expanding the size of the saron sector.
Two sets of constraints to women can be iden;ed in agricultural produc;on. Organiza3onal
constraints such as access to land and capital limit the opportuni;es for women who want to and
are capable of star;ng up saron producing enterprises. Ins3tu3onal constraints such as ineec;ve
regula;ons, insucient government programmes to encourage women to engage in entrepreneurial
ac;vity, and strongly held views about the place of women in Afghan society can and do limit the
opportuni;es of even those who overcome organiza;onal constraints.
Despite organiza;onal and ins;tu;onal constraints, there are a number of opportuni;es for women
entrepreneurs in general and women saron producers in par;cular. For example, there are a
number of womens associa;ons and borrower groups who, with the help of na;onal and
interna;onal NGOs and MFIs, have managed to start up their own businesses. In the case of saron,
there is sucient informa;on and support from INGOs such as DACAAR for the women wishing to
start their own produc;on.
The introduc;on of saron to Afghanistan by DACAAR in 1998 has been highly successful though
requires scaling out and scaling up. The new crop, saron, has strong historical roots to the region
and thus acceptable to farmers willing to switch from other crops. However, start-up investment is a
prerequisite to ins;tute a new crop. The distribu;on of free bulbs by DACAAR and other agricultural
extension agencies seems to have played a key role in luring farmers to experiment with the new
crop.
It will be easier to draw other farmers to plant saron if they are assured that in rst 1-3 years they
have access to emergency funds to support their livelihood un;l the saron reaches maturity and
produces economically.

While some organizing has taken place by women who have formed producer associa;ons in and
around Herat, more work could and should be done to promote the forma;on of womens grower/
producer associa;ons through awareness raising and increasing the availability of start-up funds. At
the same ;me, MISFA and the MFIs will need to be engaged in plans to mainstream more women
into saron produc;on in rural areas by designing new nancial products suited to the needs of
saron produc;on.

1. Introduc;on
Afghanistan has compara;ve and compe;;ve strengths in the agriculture sector, par;cularly in the
hor;culture and livestock sub-sectors, in which women are known to par;cipate largely in
produc;on and processing. Orchard fruits fresh or dried are one of the key sectors in export
growth, while poultry products (both eggs and meat) can subs;tute for imports, which amount to
US$ 78.2 million per annum. In the non-farm sector, carpets are one of Afghanistans key export
products, produced mostly by women and their children in their homes. Un;l the late 1970s
Afghanistan supplied 20% of the raisins on the global market, held a dominant posi;on in pistachio
and dried fruit produc;on, and produced livestock and wool products for the regional markets. The
intermiPent periods of conict since the late 1970s combined with periodic droughts have resulted
in loss of agriculturally produc;ve land and weakened produc;ve capacity due to ight of capital,
displacement of framing communi;es, neglect of irriga;on channels, diminished technical and
market support and, ul;mately, loss of market share.
Women are responsible for producing 70%-80% of food crops in South Asia (Samson 2006). They
raise chickens and collect eggs, water and weed crops, clean and dry fruits and vegetables, and
process and package agricultural produce or products. There is far less involvement of women in
marke;ng and trading of the goods they help produce, however. In Afghanistan the percentage of
women involved in agricultural produc;on is es;mated at 65% of the agricultural workforce (World
Bank 2007, UNIFEM 2008). Women carry out the bulk of the value-adding ac;vi;es as domes;c
chores while the trading and marke;ng of nished agricultural products are carried out almost
exclusively by men who are also the main nancial beneciaries of the process. Two Key factors
contribu;ng to these inequitable arrangements are gender bias based on deeply ingrained cultural
norms (Byravan 2008) and the highly informal agricultural economy.
The Government of Afghanistan s;pulates gender equality to be one of the most important cross-
cutng themes in the Afghanistan Na;onal Development Strategy (ANDS) 2008-2013. The
Government, supported by a host of interna;onal donors, has commiPed to measurable
improvements in womens economic opportuni;es and access to and control over produc;ve assets
and income. Since agriculture accounts for approximately 50% of Afghanistans gross domes;c
product, systemic interven;on to increase produc;vity through changes in the organiza;on of
produc;on including the introduc;on of new technologies is necessary for crea;ng more viable
livelihood alterna;ves, par;cularly for women who are most vulnerable in poorer rural
communi;es. However, there is insucient precise and reliable knowledge about gender rela;ons in
agricultural produc;on and the poten;al for women to assume a more central role. The
reconstruc;on of the agricultural sector in Afghanistan requires iden;fying system resiliencies and
establishing what works despite the insurmountable barriers confronted by the sector over the
years while ac;vely pursuing innova;ve alterna;ves to expand the scope of current ac;vi;es and
increase gender equity and produc;vity.

Mainstreaming women in agricultural produc;on requires a systemic understanding of the

organiza;on(s) of produc;on and needs to be based on local geography, gender and other local factors
(Blake and Hanson 2005, cited in Byravan 2008). Introduced forms of economic organiza;on to
increase gender balance and agricultural produc;on in Afghanistan will need to be cognizant of, and
resonate with, centuries-old structures of economic organiza;on including the alloca;on of gender
roles. At the same ;me, gender mainstreaming interven;ons must challenge some of the exis;ng
social and economic ins;tu;ons in order to pursue progressive economic and social change.
Recognizing the centrality of agriculture in the reconstruc;on eorts, and in suppor;ng Afghanistans
economic development through regional as well as interna;onal trade, donors and aid agencies have
undertaken a number of studies of value chains and iden;ed na;onal, regional, and interna;onal
markets, providing revenue assessments at each point of the chain (Millns 2007). However, none of
these studies has comprehensively analyzed the gender dimension and dynamics in value chains. To
enable gender equality in the manner to which ANDS aspires, i.e., facilita;ng womens access to and
control over assets and income, requires a comprehensive analysis that lends a gender perspec;ve to
value chain research, and through which constraints and opportuni;es for womens par;cipa;on in
various steps of value chains can be explored. The following ques;ons guided this research:
1. Which ac;vi;es are performed by women and men in saron produc;on and why?
2. How can the value-added ac;vi;es performed by women be increased and how can women
upgrade to new ac;vi;es with higher value-added?
3. At what point(s) in the value chains is there poten;al for women to gain nancially and/or assume
more responsibili;es in decision making over produc;on and/or marke;ng?
4. What are the constraints for women and men concerning access to markets at the local, na;onal,
regional and, if appropriate, interna;onal levels?
5. What are the constraints to moving up to higher value-adding ac;vi;es in the saron value chain?
What are the specic constraints to women?
6. How can the posi;on of Afghan producers and specically of Afghan women be improved through
programming or other interven;ons?
This studys ndings are intended to expand the pool of knowledge for informed policy making in
gender mainstreaming and/in agricultural development. The main contribu;on of this study is the
development and applica;on of an integrated approach to understanding gender in value chains.

2. Objec;ves
This study was undertaken to iden;fy constraints and explore opportuni;es for women to
par;cipate and improve their posi;on in various stages of saron produc;on. To address ques;ons
1-6, above, the following objec;ves were set for this study:
-

A review of the literature on agricultural value chains, value chain analysis, and gender in/and
agricultural development

Development of an analy;cal framework to examine gender in/and value chain dynamics

Collec;on of primary data on saron produc;on through eld visits, focus group discussions and
interviews with key informants in Kabul and Herat

Analysis of the data from eld visits and secondary sources

Genera;on of key ndings and recommenda;ons for gender mainstreaming polices in

agricultural development

The methodology used to address the above objec;ves is elaborated in the next sec;on.

3. Methodology
The mainly qualita;ve data for this research were collected through reviews of the literature and
exis;ng reports and communiqus, interviews with key informants within or related to the saron
value chain, and focus group discussions with producer groups.3 An extensive review was carried out
to take stock of the available literature on agricultural produc;on, value chain analysis, and gender
in/and agricultural produc;on.4 This study is centered on saron and the site of study is mainly
Herat, supplemented with interviews with na;onal key informants based in Kabul and interna;onal
key informants in the United States and United Arab Emirates.
The key informants included commercial actors such as input suppliers, processors, nancial and
other service providers, middlemen, traders, wholesalers, retailers, exporters, buyers and
middlemen involved in export to markets such as India, Pakistan, Iran, and UAE. The ins;tu;onal
actors at the local level included the following: (a) provincial and district government oces and
provincial Chambers of Commerce; and (b) NGOs and aid agencies involved in the saron value
chain, in terms of social mobiliza;on, technical assistance, micronance, marke;ng and trade, and
womens socio-economic development. Ins;tu;onal actors at the na;onal level were drawn from
governmental ministries, donors, aid agencies, and NGOs which support women in trade, and
private sector organiza;ons involved in business development support for both men and women
such as business associa;ons and Micronance Ins;tu;ons (MFIs).
_____________________________________________________________________________________

3 See Appendices 1 and 2 for the key informant and focus group par:cipant details and the codes used to cite them in this report.
4 See Understanding Gender in Agricultural Produc:on: A Review of the Literature and a Conceptual Framework and Understanding
Gender in Agricultural Produc:on: and Annotated Bibliography for the Case of Afghanistan, available at: hKp://www.appro.org.af/
Publica:ons.html

The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. Sec;on 4 describes and elaborates on the key
elements of the analy;cal framework used in this study. Sec;on 5, provides a detailed overview of
what is known about saron produc;on in Afghanistan, paying par;cular aPen;on to the role of
women in produc;on. Sec;on 6 highlights the key ndings from the analysis of the primary data
collected through interviews with key informants drawn from na;onal and local organiza;ons and
focus group discussions with two women saron producers associa;ons in Herat. Sec;on 7
concludes by highligh;ng the key lessons learned while Sec;on 8 provides a series of
recommenda;ons aimed at informing decision making on gender mainstreaming in/and agricultural
development.

4. Gender in/and Value Chains: A Framework

The study adapted the global value chain approach to account for the gender dimension of
agricultural produc;on.5 Through the value chain approach, each step of the produc;on and
distribu;on process (e.g. input supply, produc;on, processing, marke;ng, trading) was mapped and
analyzed, including suppor;ng services such as retailing, storage and transport. The value chain
approach was also adapted to incorporate an ins;tu;onal perspec;ve, taking into account the
embeddedness of value chains in their contextual setngs. To understand the constraints against
womens par;cipa;on and capture of higher value-added in value chains (and to nd solu;ons), this
study adopted a ver;cal perspec;ve to focus on sectoral dynamics and specic actors and a
horizontal perspec;ve to take account of constraints in the specic context of Afghanistan.
Specically, the study sought informa;on and collected data on:
-

Demand and market size at local, na;onal (Kabul and other major urban centers), regional and
interna;onal levels

Costs and benets at the producer level, including labour, other inputs and credit

Compe;;ve issues (focusing on both price and quality), and

Market access and infrastructure (access to roads and electricity), logis;cs, input supply,
processing, access to markets and marke;ng support services, access to capital, administra;ve
procedures, and skills.

The frame of analysis adopted for this study was informed by Bolwig et al. (2008) and Laven et al.
(2009). Bolwig et al. (2008) build on Barreintoss (2001), Barrientos et al. (2003), and Tallon;re et al.
(2005) to oer a comprehensive framework for integra;ng gender with the ver;cal and
horizontal aspects of value chains that aect poverty and sustainability. Bolwig et al. (2008) then
oer their integrated frame of analysis to underline the importance of the following components
and aspects of the value chain:

_____________________________________________________________________________________

5 See Barrientos (2001) and Barrientos et al. (2003).

Types of actors chain actors, external actors/networks, excluded chain actors and non
par;cipants.

Types of change in value chain posi;on inclusion into value chain, con;nued par;cipa;on
under new terms, exclusion of par;cipants, and non par;cipa;on.

How the change in value chain posi;on may be driven by changes from above (in value
structure, governance, standards and cer;ca;ons), or from below (in actor capabili;es
resul;ng from upgrading or local factors).

Key dimensions of poverty/the environment, for each type of change in posi;on.

Illustra;ons of how commonly observed ver;cal chain dynamics (change in posi;on and the
causes) may impact on each dimension of poverty/the environment.

Gender issues rela;ng to both ver;cal dynamics and horizontal impacts/issues.

Laven et al. (2009) also outline an integra;ve framework for value chain and gender analysis by
integra;ng two separate frameworks on gender empowerment and chain empowerment to provide
insights into the internal dimensions of value chains such as ver;cal and horizontal integra;on, and
external dimensions such as gender dynamics in the household and the community and the
ins;tu;onal context including norms, rules, and values. Similarly, Gammage et al. (2005) iden;fy
four markets in which gender imbalances constrain equitable access and outcomes: labour markets,
in which individuals sell their labour and are remunerated by wages; nances markets which
comprise a broad range of products and services oered by nancial intermediaries, such as
banking, credit, savings, insurance, pensions, and mortgages; goods markets where produc;on
inputs and outputs are purchased and sold; and services markets, which encompass the delivery,
purchase, or hiring-in of services that can enhance or upgrade produc;ve ac;vi;es. Gammage et al.s
(2005) approach is based on en;tlements and capabili;es analysis of poverty and depriva;on.
En;tlements are dened as the bundle of resources that an individual or group of individuals
commands for the purpose of consump;on, produc;on, or exchange. Capabili;es are the
individuals or groups freedom and abili;es to deploy their resources (Box 1).
Gammage et al.s (2005) nd that projects tend to concentrate dispropor;onately on micronance,
diversifying agricultural produc;on, and rural livelihoods. Far fewer projects address training and
workforce development; labor market intermedia;on; and generalizing nancial instruments for
insurance, social security, and pensions. Projects that provide capabili;es and en;tlements may be
more successful when nested within programmes and sector wide ac;vi;es that address structural
exclusions and barriers. For a gender-sensi;ve approach to development, Gammage et al. (2005)
propose the following:
-

Use of gender analysis tools to design, implement, and evaluate projects and programmes

Undertake a value chain analysis to iden;fy opportuni;es for womens broader par;cipa;on in
markets

Improve micro-meso-macro linkages

Pursue a lifecycle or livelihoods approach

Support en;tlement and capability programmes

Promote clustering and networking

Expand access to credit and nancial services, and

Address informality

To establish the extent, quan;ta;vely and qualita;vely, to which women par;cipate in economic
ac;vi;es and benet from them requires a methodology that accounts for the total input from
women throughout the produc;on value chain. An engendered value chain approach in socio-
economic analysis as adopted in this study allows for taking account of all aspects of the produc;on
process, distribu;on, and retailing across global supply networks to iden;fy inputs, outputs, and the
distribu;on of the benets in a given value chain.
Box 1. En;tlements and Capabili;es Approach (Excerpts from Gammage et al. [2005])

-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

En;tlements describe the bundle of resources that an individual or group commands for the purpose of
consump;on, produc;on, or exchange.
Capabili;es summarize an individuals or groups freedoms and abili;es to deploy their resources.
Projects focused on en;tlements focus on increasing access to resources and inputs that enable women to enter
markets, increase their produc;vity, or scale up their exis;ng ac;vi;es.
Projects focused on capabili;es emphasize improving womens capacity to deploy available resources to increase
their market access and improve market outcomes.
Projects focused on en;tlements are more likely to have emerged without an explicit gender analysis or focus.
Projects focused on capabili;es are dispropor;onately likely to have emerged from a process that analyzed gender
inequali;es and sought to address gender-based exclusion or barriers to market entry and par;cipa;on.
The majority of projects and programmes pursue an en;tlements approach concentra;ng on direct inputs such as
credit, storage, and transport.
Fewer projects and programmes focus on a capabili;es approach, increasing womens ability to enter markets,
nego;ate with buyers and sellers, and posi;on them-selves higher up the value chain.
Programmes and projects that focus on enhancing womens capabili;es as well as their en;tlements are likely to
increase the value added of their produc;on, and enable women to secure bePer outcomes in exis;ng and new
markets.
Market access is a necessary but not sucient condi;on for ensuring bePer mainstreaming women in produc;on.
Successful projects and programmes pay aPen;on both to inputs as well as to the individual or group ability to
deploy these inputs. Programmes and projects that provide informa;on and communica;ons technologies are likely
to improve womens bargaining power with monopsonists (sole buyers). Programmes that provide collec;ve access
to child care can enable women to enter markets or receive training and engage in workforce development
ini;a;ves.

En;tlements

Credit
Produc:on input
Transport
Storage

Capabili;es

Child-care services
Business Development Services
Insurance
Market informa:on
ICT services

10

Training
Legal interven:ons that
enshrine or enforce womens
access and labor rights
Advocacy

Our analysis focused on the four key elements of produc;on, employment, exports and the role of
women throughout the process. Value chain mapping was carried out as part of the analysis to
iden;fy the key commercial and ins;tu;onal actors and their rela;onships, their gender distribu;on,
and their posi;on in rela;on to the value chain steps (including produc;on and distribu;on of the
products). Ins;tu;onal actors were mapped at the local, provincial, na;onal, regional and, as much
as possible, interna;onal levels. The mapping was used to examine two sets of constraints, and to
suggest remedial ac;on through policy and donor-aided programs to address them. The rst set,
organiza;onal constraints, were dened as those that inuence gender balance in the process of
introducing basic import subs;tu;on measures through technology transfer, extension, and other
measures such as rural micronance. The second set, ins;tu;onal constraints, inuence macro-
measures aimed at reducing the quan;ta;ve and qualita;ve gender gaps in agriculture-based
produc;on.
Box 2. Typology of Ins;tu;ons
Behavioural: Ins;tu;ons as standardized (recognizable) social habits manifest in deeply ingrained behaviour of
individuals and groups as reec;ons of social norms
Cogni<ve: Ins;tu;ons as mental models and constructs or deni;ons, based on values and embedded in culture aspired
to by individuals and groups
Associa<ve: Ins;tu;ons as mechanisms facilita;ng prescribed or privileged interac;on among dierent private and public
interests manifest in ac;vi;es of groups of individuals
Regula<ve: Ins;tu;ons as prescrip;ons and proscrip;ons manifest as the immediate boundaries of ac;on by individuals
and groups
Cons<tu<ve: Ins;tu;ons setng the bounds of social rela;ons manifest as the ul3mate boundaries of ac;on by
individuals and groups
Source: Parto (2008)

The work on the organiza;onal set of constraints was carried out through an examina;on of the
policy process for reviving agricultural produc;on in Afghanistan since 2002, the impact of these
policies based on the informa;on available from secondary sources, and the assessment of the
impact on women based on interviews with key informants from the sector. The analysis was to
reveal path dependency, the pace of change, and the evolu;on of the ac;vi;es, roles, and
rela;onships within the saron value chain. The work on the ins;tu;onal set of constraints consisted
of taking stock of formal and informal ins;tu;ons that structure the agricultural sector including the
alloca;on of gender roles. The inventoried ins;tu;ons were then assessed for signicance based on
the typology of ins;tu;ons (Box 2) to determine entry points for policy interven;on to eect
ins;tu;onal change.

11

5. Saron Value Chain

According to Abdulaev (1998), apart from its culinary and cosme;cs uses saron has poten;ally
benecial medical uses an anodyne, an;spasmodic, aphrodisiac, diaphore;c, emmenagogue,
expectorant, and seda;ve. The plant has been used as a folk remedy against scarlet fever, smallpox,
colds, insomnia, asthma, tumors, and cancer and its colouring eect has been found in cave artwork
from pre-historic communi;es da;ng back 50,000 years. Un;l rela;vely recently saron was widely
used as a dye in fabrics and wool for carpet weaving. As a spice saron has been traded for about
5,000 years (ICARDA 2007). Today saron is the most expensive spice and has been compared to
gold and opium for its value by weight.
Saron growing is highly protable and ecologically suited to the arid growing condi;ons prevalent
in western and northwestern Afghanistan. Saron is dried s;gmas of crocus sa3vus, a type of crocus.
The plant does not compete against other crops for irriga;on and labour (despite being par;cularly
labour-intensive) as the harves;ng ;me, around 2-3 weeks in October each year, occurs aTer most
other crops have been harvested. The ecology of numerous parts of Afghanistan, par;cularly in
aPer and more arid areas with some access to water such as Herat, are suitable for plan;ng saron
(see Box 3).
Box 3. Saron Planta;on Site Requirements
Climate: Mild winters with heavy snowfall and hot summers.
Temperature: Saron grows well under temperate and dry climates; its vegeta;ve growth coincides with cold weather and
freezing condi;on. Saron tolerates maximum of +45C and minimum of -18C.
Moisture: Annual rainfall requirement for saron is about 300 mm. Maximum water requirement is in March and April of
about 15 to 20 liPers per m2 per irriga;on period.
Soil: Saron can be grown in a wide range of soils, with moderate structure and good inltra;on. But for bePer growth
and produc;on, soil should be sandy loam, rich in calcium and high content of organic maPer.
Source: ICARDA/DACAAR (2008)

Photo 1: Saron Bulb

Photo 2: Saron Plant

Source: DACAAR

12

During the harves;ng the owers are hand picked and carried o to have their s;gmas removed and
dried to produce saron. The plant requires minimal fer;liza;on. Throughout its growing process it
needs two irriga;ons, a great advantage in a geographic area suering from a general scarcity of
water par;cularly for the many smallholding farmers. In addi;on, growing saron does not carry
with it the burden of sin, oTen associated with growing poppies and marijuana by most interpreters
of Islamic teachings.

Producing a kilogram of dried saron requires 150,000 to 170,000 owers and around 400 hours of
labour. According to the farmers in Herat, a jerib of land (one Th of a hectare or 2,000 square
meters) yields opium worth US$400-600, while the same land area can produce 1-3 Kilograms of
saron worth US$2-3,000 per Kilogram. Annual global saron produc;on is around 300 tons, of
which Iran is es;mated to produce between 90-94 percent. High quality packaged saron retails for
as much as US$11,000 per Kilogram or higher in Western markets while recent years have witnessed
a surge in the demand.6 One US-based trader es;mates the demand in the United States alone at 20
tons per year at minimum.7
Saron produc;on has signicantly increased over the past few years in Afghanistan. There are no
reliable ocial records of Afghanistans total saron exports at Afghanistans Central Sta;s;cs Oce,
the Export Promo;on Agency of Afghanistan, or Afghanistan Investment Support Agency.8 The
Directorate of MAIL in Herat es;mates the produc;on of saron for 2009 at over 900 Kilograms.
Limited quan;;es of saron have also been produced in Maidan Wardak, Logar, Kunduz and a
number of other provinces, largely as an experimental crop. Herat and the other western provinces
remain the main saron growing regions of Afghanistan.

Globally, Germany, Italy, the United States, Switzerland, UK, and France are the largest saron
impor;ng countries. The major producers of saron in the world are Iran, Spain, India, Greece,
Azerbaijan, Morocco, and Italy.9 A senior ocial of the Department of Agriculture, Irriga;on and
Livestock in Herat es;mates the area of land under saron cul;va;on at around 212 hectares,
involving over 1,000 farmers and with the poten;al to produce between 50 to 70 tons of saron.
Experts, government ocials, and saron traders all claim that Afghan saron is of the highest
quality with a poten;al to make signicant inroads into the interna;onal market. According to the
Danish CommiPee for Aid to Afghan Refugees (DACAAR), a 2007 project survey in the Herat province
showed that over 80% of farmers grow at least small quan;;es of saron every year for household
use. The survey also reported that about 1,100 farmers in Afghanistan grew saron.10
_____________________________________________________________________________________

6 Wholesale and retail saron price es;mates vary between US$1,100 and US$11,000. ICARDA / DACAAR (2008). Saron
Manual for Afghanistan. Available at: www.icarda.org/Ralfweb/PDFs/SaronManualForAfghanistan.pdf, accessed
January 4, 2010.
7 Email exchange with a saron trader based in San Francisco on January 16, 2010.
8 Major saron traders shy away from repor;ng the volumes of their trade and prefer to conduct business transac;ons
informally and without much publicity via saron carriers who transport the nished product in bulk for sale in
interna;onal markets.
9 Spice Trade, hPp://www.spice-trade.com/saron.htm, accessed September 5, 2009.
10 ICARDA / DACAAR (2008).

13

Figure 1: Average Price of Saron in Herat Market per kg of Saron in $US.

'!!!"
&#!!"
&!!!"
%#!!"
%!!!"
$#!!"
$!!!"
#!!"
!"
%!!'"

%!!#"

%!!("

%!!)"

%!!*"

%!!+"

%!$!"

Source: Data collected from producers and traders in late 2009 and early 2010

According to the main traders in Herat, Ministry of Agriculture ocials, and NGO ocials
interviewed Afghan processed saron is exported at a price of around $5,500 US to countries such as
Iran, India, UAE, Pakistan, USA, and Europe. Exports of Afghan saron to the American and European
markets takes place through transit loca;ons such as Iran or Dubai, which usually brand the product
as origina;ng from those countries. Interna;onally, saron is graded according to the ISO standards
(ISO 3632), ranging from I (nest) to IV (poorest). Afghanistans saron, if processed adequately, is
said to be of the highest grade.11 Most of the work done to harvest, process, and package saron in
Afghanistan is carried out by women - up to 80% according to es;mates by the key informants
interviewed for this study. Eorts are being made by saron growing women in Herat to assume a
more central role in the marke;ng of their products.12

5.1 Produc;on of Saron

The produc;on process begins with preparing the land for plan;ng the saron bulb.13 Saron bulbs
are mostly smuggled in from Iran by individuals working for saron trading businesses or for
themselves and sold at around $3 to $4 (US) per Kilogram in Herat.14 Bulbs are also available from
local farms in Herat between the fourth and seventh year of cul;va;on at a price between $4 to $5
US per Kg. Bulbs produced in Afghanistan are of a higher quality since they are fresher, acclima;zed,
_____________________________________________________________________________________

11 APPRO interview with DACAAR, 27 September 2009.

12 This study iden;ed two saron producing womens associa;ons in Herat, in Pashtun Zarghoon and Ghoryan Districts.

More informa;on on these groups is provided later sec;ons of this paper.

13 See Appendices 1 and 2 for a detailed value chain actor map and an overview of dierent cases of values chains and its
respec;ve added value ac;vi;es.
14 The bulbs are smuggled in, rather than legi;mately imported, from Iran since Iran has imposed an embargo on export of
saron bulbs.

14

and less likely to have been damaged in transporta;on. Some limited quan;;es of bulbs were also
imported from the Netherlands a few years ago but were found unsuitable for the harsher Herat
climate. The buyers of bulbs are saron trading businesses, the government departments such as
the Directorate of Agriculture, NGOs, PRTs, and farmers (see Table 1). Since most of the bulbs on the
market are smuggled bulbs, there are no ocial records of the quan;ty of bulbs entering the
country.
Bulbs, smuggled or domes;cally produced, are distributed by NGOs, PRT, and the Directorate of
Agriculture in Herat to farmers in limited amounts at no cost in some cases and in others under the
condi;on that the farmers return the same amount of bulbs to the distributer aTer extrac;on from
the ground in four to seven years aTer the rst plan;ng. The returned bulbs are then redistributed
to new farmers based on farmers requests, amount of bulbs available, suitability of the land and
environment, and in consulta;on with village elders (typically Maliks or Arbabs) and heads of saron
producer associa;ons, if in existence.
Trading saron bulbs has been primarily a mens job in Afghanistan. Women are involved in bulb
trade but only as buyers or receivers. Representa;ves from the Associa;on of Women Saron
Producers of Ghoryan and the Associa;on of Women Saron Producers of Pashtun Zarghoon (both
in Herat and interviewed for this study), said that they have received limited quan;;es of saron
bulbs from NGOs under the abovemen;oned condi;ons. The Associa;ons distribute the bulbs
among their members for plan;ng on their individual farms.

15

H3&2'-*C%25'()*
*

AB$-3/2-3*C%25'()**
DE$(/,"3%/*F$&*!(=$-=35G*
*

+%2(5'()8*426@2)'()8*2(5**
;2%@3&'()*
*

93#2%2&'()*9&')"2/*2(5**
0%?'()*92::%$(*
*

<2%=3/&'()*1-$>3%/*

4%3#2%'()*72(58*4-2(&'()*92::%$(*
+,-.8*;2'(&2'('()*12%"*

J*
J*
J*

4%$5,6'()*+,-./*
*
*

J*
J*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

J*
*
*
*
*
J*
*
*
*
*
*
*

+,-.*C%253%/I9",))-3%/*
K$=3%("3(&*
L'5*E$"",('&?*D0$($%/8*FKM/8*4HCG*
12%"3%/*
4%$5,63%*L//$6'2&'$(/*
0$"3/&'6*AB$-3/2-3*+,?3%/*
0$"3/&'6*H3&2'-3%/*
0$"3/&'6*E$(/,"3%/*
1$%3')(3%*AB$-3/2-3*+,?3%/**
1$%3')(3%*H3&2'-3%/*
1$%3')(*E$(/,"3%/*
9",))-3%/*&$*!%2(*

(%)$#'! !

0'/&%'.,&'()*+,-./*&$*12%"3%/*

"#$%&''!

!"#$%&'()*+,-./*

Table 1: Actors and Processes in the Saron Value Chain

*
*
J*
J*
J*
*
*
*
*
*
*

*
*
J*
J*
J*
*
*
*
*
*
*

*
*
J*
J*
J*
*
*
*
*
*
*

*
*
*
J*
J*
*
*
*
*
*
*

*
*
J*
J*
J*
J*
*
J*
*
*
J*

*
*
*
*
*
J*
J*
*
J*
J*
*

5.2 Plan;ng Saron

Most of the land under saron cul;va;on belongs to men. Saron farmers are individual farmers and
farmers contracted by saron businesses. There are three main businesses in Herat involved in
plan;ng, processing and expor;ng saron. In 2009 four addi;onal businesses registered as saron
producers15 in Herat. These businesses are all involved in trading saron bulbs. Other inputs in
addi;on to land and bulbs are fer;lizers (either animal manure available locally or chemical fer;lizers
available in the district and provincial markets, both used sparingly and minimally), labour (available
locally), water (available locally, free or at varying costs), transporta;on of bulbs (by truck and/or
animals), and training for preparing land and selec;ng and plan;ng bulbs. The costs, ocially
unavailable, have been es;mated by the NGOs involved in the development of the saron sector since
the late 1990s.16
Some of these costs are dicult to es;mate for incorpora;on into a value chain because no monetary
value has ever been placed on some inputs such as water and training.17 Land value also varies across
villages, districts, and provinces and is a func;on of local rules and customs. However, if we base the
analysis of the value chain on the assump;on that land, labour, water and, to some extent, organic
fer;lizers are a given in small and medium scale farming, the value chain can be mapped from the
purchase of the saron bulbs and some training as start-up inputs.
Some interna;onal NGOs, Provincial Reconstruc;on Teams, government agencies, and local
associa;ons provide training for selected farmers and on occasion distribute bulbs free of charge.
Farmers can receive around 200 Kilograms of bulbs for each 1,000m2 of land or in smaller quan;;es
for less land. Since bulbs mul;ply in the ground, most farmers will not need addi;onal bulbs from the
aid agencies to expand the saron farms. Each Jerib (2000 m2) of land is ideally planted with 500 to
800 Kilogram of bulbs depending on the labour input by and the purchasing power of the farmer.
Other ac;vi;es required during plan;ng and caring for the land are weeding and breaking of soil crust.
Pes;cides or herbicides are not typically used in saron farming.
Women typically plant on smaller farms, made available to them by their male family members. Water
rights are based on historically allocated cul;vated lands in the rural areas. There appears to be no
discrimina;on against women in receiving sucient and ;mely water. Labour is provided by the
women themselves and their men when needed, par;cularly in land prepara;on prior to plan;ng
saron bulbs. Plan;ng bulbs is done by both men and women. On average, about US$2,500 is spent on
cul;va;ng each Jerib of saron in the rst year. This includes labour and fer;lizer costs. In the
_____________________________________________________________________________________

15 APPRO interview with AISA Herat, 10 January 2010.

16 See, for example, Saron Manual for Afghanistan, Annex 8 (ICARDA/DACAAR 2008). The values used in this report are
based on the ICARDA/DACAAR publica;on and updated with new informa;on collected from farmers, NGOs,
Government ocials, and traders during the course of this research.
17 A notable excep;on is the Plan for the Development of the Saron Sector, prepared under the leadership of Hashim
Aslami, Natural Resource Manager at DACAAR in 2007. Available in Dari only.

16

subsequent years, an average of US$500 per year is spent on each Jerib for maintenance consis;ng
of fer;lizers and labour. Weeding or breaking of the soil crust is carried out by both men and
women.18

5.3 Harves;ng Flowers

The number of owers aTer the rst year of cul;va;on are much lower than later years though they
can s;ll be picked and used to extract the s;gmas. Picked saron owers may be sold directly to
traders without processing but at a rela;vely very low price of US$24 per Kilogram (2009 price). Very
few farmers choose to sell owers without processing, however. Collec;ng saron ower is done
mostly by women and children. Small scale farmers (around two jeribs of land or less) who have two
or more family members old enough to pick owers do not, normally, need addi;onal workers. Every
person can collect 3 to 5 Kilogram of ower in about 3 hours every day during the collec;on ;me.
Should addi;onal workers be needed, they are hired from among the rela;ves, neighbours, and daily
wage workers who are familiar with saron ower harves;ng. Both men and women labourers are
paid an average of US$1.50 per day, which is only three hours long and be completed in early
morning before sunlight can damage the s;gmas in the owers.19
Men par;cipate in saron ower collec;on if the farm is not visually protected enough for the
women to work. This trend varies across districts and regions depending on the level of cultural
sensi;vi;es against women working outside their homes. For instance, women in the Ghoryan
District feel more comfortable working on the farms than women in Pashtoon Zarghoon.

5.4 Processing Saron

Removing the s;gmas from the owers is done exclusively by women. The process takes place either
at homes by the family members or at the processing centres run by saron businesses. Small scale
farmers who can harvest their own owers are generally able to process owers without hiring
addi;onal workers. Larger scale farmers hire workers to help them with processing saron owers.
These workers are oTen the same individuals who help with harves;ng owers. Every worker can
process 3 to 5 Kilogram ower per day, depending on experience.
A worker, male of female, receives around US$0.60 for every Kilogram of ower processed.20 Female
workers are preferred by larger businesses for their speed, pa;ence and precision in separa;ng
s;gmas. The representa;ve of one of the saron businesses interviewed in September 2009,
however, stated that on occasion he paid women US$2.20 per day while paying men US$3 per day
_____________________________________________________________________________________

18 APPRO interview with Afghan Red Gold, 26 September 2009. Also

APPRO interview with Ghoryan Women Saron Associa;on, 27 September 2009.
19 APPRO interview with Afghan Red Gold, 15 January 2010.
20 APPRO interview with Afghan Red Gold, 26 September 2009.

17

for processing saron owers in 2008. He also added that the quality of the womens work was
bePer than that of men and that he preferred to hire women. More recently (January 2010),
womens daily wage was quoted as US$3 per day plus US$1 for lunch expenses.21
In larger opera;ons run by businesses and the two womens associa;ons interviewed for this study,
drying s;gmas is done by electric dryers. Smaller producers without access to electric dryers dry
their saron in open air, yielding the lowest quality, or tradi;onal siTers over warm charcoal which
runs the risk of burning the valuable s;gmas. Electric dryers cost around US$40022 each though
recently this price has been reduced to around US$180 for dryers imported from Iran23. The electric
dryers produce much bePer quality saron in a shorter ;me. The farmers and businesses
interviewed all had their own dryers but could not es;mate the energy cost of running the dryers
and seemed not at all concerned with electricity consump;on.24 The dryers are run for around 30
minutes for drying one Kilogram of s;gmas. Most small scale farmers cannot aord buying electric
dryers though there were numerous examples of sharing dryers among the farmers of the same
areas. Both men and women take part in drying saron s;gmas.

5.5 Packaging and Branding

Saron is packaged by Afghan Red Gold (Saron) Co., Afghan Zafaran and Faizis Saron Processing
and Produc;on Co., while only Afghan Zafaran and Faizis Saron Processing and Produc;on Co.
brand their packages. Women are the main workers in packaging and work mainly in the processing
centres set up by these businesses.
Ghoryans Associa;on of Women Saron Producers received a grant from USAID/SMED to try its
own packaging brand for the rst ;me. The Associa;on bought some general use packaging material
for spices from the local market and packaged and branded the saron. The new brand was sold at
an exhibi;on at a lower price than that in the market for publicity purposes in early 2009. In late
2009 the same Associa;on sold packaged and branded saron in India for US$4,500 per Kilogram.25
This adver;zing method seems to have been eec;ve as the Associa;on has been receiving calls for
more saron of that brand. The Associa;on is currently awai;ng its 2009/2010 crop but is unsure of
being able to repeat the previous years success due to not having the grant to purchase the
packaging material for the next crop.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

21 APPRO interview with Afghan Red Gold, 15 January 2010.

22 APRO interview with Ghoryan Women Saron Associa;on, 27 September 2009.
23 APPRO interview with DADS Training Services, 1 December 2010.
24 Drying one Kilogram of saron costs approximately US$1 worth of generator fuel.
25 APPRO interview with Ghoryan Women Saron Associa;on, 27 September 2009.

18

Since saron is sold in grams by retailers and the packaging boxes need specic type and quality of
material, packaging for retail is likely to be expensive for small businesses or the womens
associa;on interested in entering the market to sell their own brands. In 2008 processing and
packaging saron cost around US$500 per Kilogram of saron in Herat.26 This problem is
compounded when the produced quan;;es are limited and not (yet) mee;ng interna;onal
standards in terms of quality and cer;ca;on. Unpackaged saron sold in bulk yields lower returns
to the sellers.
Figure 2. Costs and Values Added by Saron Actors for Domes;c Packaged Retail Saron in $US.
*!!!"
)!!!"
(!!!"
'!!!"
&!!!"

F,D?/"G22/2"
H401"

%!!!"
$!!!"
#!!!"
!"
+,-./01/2"345/-0"
67,-8/-09"

:-4;/00/2"0,<-4=" :,;A,B/2",=2">-,=2/2"
C4D2"14"248/0E;"
67,-8/-0"4-">?0@=/00/09" 0,<-4="6>?0@=/00/09" ;4=0?8/-0"6-/1,@D/-09"

Source: Average values based on informa;on provided by key informants in 2009 (exclude the value of harvested bulbs).

5.6 Trading Saron

There are three main saron trading businesses in Afghanistan, all based in Herat. Most of their
marke;ng is done through par;cipa;ng in na;onal, regional, and interna;onal exhibi;ons. Buyers
are importers from Iran, Pakistan, UAE, Europe and the United States. Due to compe;;ve pressures,
two of the exporters interviewed for this study were generally reluctant to disclose the details of
their dealings with foreign buyers or the prices at which they sell their products. Secondary sources
report, however, that Afghan-produced saron is sold almost en;rely in bulk and without being
registered on lis;ngs held by provincial chambers of commerce.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

26 APPRO interview with Afghan Red Gold, 26 September 2009.

19

Box 4. A Case of Chain Governance

Early in 2009 the Head of a womens Saron Associa;on decided to package and sell associa;on-branded Saron. To do
this the Associa;on needed funding for the packaging and prin;ng costs. The Associa;ons Head approached an
interna;onal aid organiza;on oce for assistance and received a posi;ve response. A requirement of qualifying for
funding was providing quota;ons on costs. To nd out about packaging costs, the Associa;ons Head and her husband
visited one of the main saron traders. They were advised by one of the senior managers of the saron trading company
not to pursue packaging and branding saron as this was the saron traders domain of ac;vity. The Associa;ons Head
was told that every actor has certain tasks to perform within the saron value chain and the job of the Associa;on is to
produce saron to sell to [the large saron traders] who will then do the packaging and branding, and selling. The
Associa;ons Head was unable to convince the large saron trader to assist the Associa;on with a quote on packaging
and branding costs.
Following the event the Associa;ons Head was informed by a friend working at the interna;onal aid organiza;on that
some key personnel at the organiza;on had received an email from the saron trader, who had been approached for a
quote on packaging, sta;ng that the saron produced by the Associa;on was of sub-standard quality and not deserving
of assistance by the interna;onal aid organiza;on. In an interview with the said trader, the researchers for this report
were told the same story by the trader who proceeded to insist that there needed to be a clear division of labor among
the actors in saron produc;on with the women producing and traders selling. The womens Associa;on eventually
managed to convince the interna;onal aid organiza;on (through personal contacts) to provide the necessary nancial
assistance for their packaging and branding ini;a;ve.

The exact method of shipment and retail price of Afghanistans saron is unknown though secondary
sources report that expor;ng bulk saron is some;mes done as simply as being placed in travelers
luggage des;ned for points of sale in Europe and the United States. The transporta;on to Iran and
Pakistan of Afghan-produced saron is said to take place by land. Needless to say, much of the saron
exported in bulk ends up being packaged as being produced by the bulk recipient country traders.27
The local saron markets in Afghanistan are supplied by Iranian (branded) as well as Afghan-produced
saron, oTen sold in herb stores without packaging. The Iranian saron has a higher price in these
markets because of its bePer packaging and reputa;on of higher quality. The interviews with the
Associa;on of Women Saron Producers of Ghoryan suggest that the current arrangements for
expor;ng may be changing. The Associa;on has been aPemp;ng to formally market its own brand in
compe;;on with the more established traders.
The main challenges for the emerging sector are insucient and unreliable supply of high quality
saron bulbs, lack of access to capital (par;cularly for smallholding farmers), lack of mechaniza;on,
rela;vely dicult physical labour, post harvest loss of value due to inadequate harves;ng and/or
drying, lack of direct access to the end buyer of the product (see Box 5), the lead ;me required before
the plant yields economically, and lack of coopera;on by the larger and more established traders. The
bulb usually takes up to 3 years from the rst plan;ng before producing plen;ful owers and thus a
high yield of saron. Another major concern is the ini;al (rela;vely high) cost of purchasing saron
bulbs. Most smallholders are thus hesitant to switch to saron from crops with more immediate
return such as coPon, wheat, or rice. Currently, the main beneciaries of saron produc;on are the
middle agents and larger traders who purchase the saron in bulk from the growers at a frac;on of
the price paid by the retail customer.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

27 An added twist to this tale is that Iran purportedly exports 85 percent of its saron in bulk to Spain to be packaged and

sold as Spanish saron. If true, this may be because Iran wishes to pre-empt accusa;ons of monopolis;c behaviour in the
world saron market. See www.rferl.org/content/ar;cle/1068856.html for details.

20

Figure 3. Costs and Values of Unpackaged Export for Packaged Foreign Retail Saron in $US.
'#!!!"
'!!!!"
&!!!"
%!!!"
B)>;,"C//,/"
D1-."

$!!!"
#!!!"
!"
()*+,-.,/"012,*-"34"
5)*6,*-"

7*18,--,/"-)9*1:"34" =1>/"34">18)>"3;-<:,--,-"
=1>/".1"51*,<@:"
5)*6,*-"1*"3;-<:,--,-" .1"<:.,*:)?1:)>"3;4,*-" 81:-;6,*-"34"51*,<@:"
*,.)<>,*-A"

Source: Average values based on informa;on provided by key informants in 2009 (exclude the value of harvested bulbs)

5.7 Women and Saron Produc;on

A large amount of the work to produce saron is done by women who help in land prepara;on and
plan;ng, harves;ng the owers, extrac;ng the saron from the owers, batching, drying, and
some;mes packing. Recognizing this, numerous donor-funded projects are designed to create an
enabling environment for women to receive adequate compensa;on for their labour. As of 2007,
DACAAR (ICARDA/DACAAR 2008) claims to have trained over 250 women in improved produc;on
and processing methods. Also, DACAAR has held a series of womens mee;ngs and eld days, and
established community-level, women-only facili;es for drying saron.
Much work has been done in recent years to establish saron as stable crop in Afghanistan. The
Saron Programme by the Interna;onal Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)
has been funded by the United Kingdoms Department for Interna;onal Development (DfID) and is
run jointly with the Afghan Ministry of Agriculture, Irriga;on and Livestock (MAIL), the Research for
Alterna;ve Livelihood Fund (RALF) Programme by DACAAR, Washington State University, and
Catholic Relief Services. The Programme has engaged the Ministry of Counter Narco;cs, FAO, other
NGOs, and donor agencies in providing direct assistance to the farmers and organizing workshops
and other forums.
In the course of this study, two Women Producer Associa;ons from Herat who had been assisted by
DACAAR were interviewed on a number of occasions about saron produc;on in general and
barriers to womens aPempts to move up the value chain in par;cular. The rst was Associa3on of
Women Saron Producers of Pashtun Zarghoon, founded in 2005 and formally registered in 2008.
21

The Associa;on has 121 registered female members and one male member. While membership in the
associa;on is open to all women interested in growing saron, only 40 of its present members have
saron planta;ons from bulb dona;ons to the Associa;on. The Associa;on has received saron bulbs,
dryers, and an electric generator from DACAAR. DACAAR also provides guidance and training in saron
produc;on. All female heads of the Associa;on are illiterate except for two who have some reading
and wri;ng skills acquired at the mosque. It was observed during a focus group discussion and a
number of interviews with the Associa;on members and Heads that the major decisions within the
Associa;on were inuenced by the non-member husbands of the female members. While owning
almost all the land on which the women plant their saron, these men also act as intermediaries
between the Associa;on and the market and donor organiza;ons.
The second associa;on, Associa3on of Women Saron Producers of Ghoryan, was founded in 2007 and
registered in early 2009. The Ghoryan Associa;on has 72 permanent members, 25 temporary
members, and non-member female associates. The Associa;on has received bulbs, dryers, oce
supply and furniture, packaging fund, and training from the Italian Provincial Reconstruc;on Team
(PRT), ICARDA, USAID/ASMED, and Sanayee Development Organiza;on (SDO). Permanent membership
is limited to its present members who have all received bulb dona;ons from the Italian PRT and
ICARDA in the past. The Associa;on does not admit new members due to insucient facili;es and
resources but it does provide work opportuni;es for its permanent members as labourers for saron
farmers across Ghoryan district during saron plan;ng, harves;ng and processing. While its
permanent members take precedence over the temporary and non-member associates during the
work season, they are not en;tled to receiving more bulbs from future dona;ons to the Associa;on.
In a recent ini;a;ve, the Ghoryan Associa;ons Head rented one hectare of land for a period of ve
years, installed a water pump and a generator for irriga;on, and assigned 25 widowed women as
temporary labourers to grow and produce saron. The investment is expected to be recovered at the
end of the ve year period when the saron is produced and the bulbs have mul;plied. The temporary
labourers will be leT with sucient bulbs to start on their own. The only male member of the

Photo 3: Saron S;gmas

Photo 4: Women Harves;ng Saron S;gmas

Source: DACAAR

22

Associa;on holds the second most senior posi;on in the Associa;on. Almost all female heads of the
associa;on are high school educated and ar;culate. The cultural impact of immigra;on to Iran in
previous years by many members of the Ghoryan community in general has resulted in a more open
environment for women to work on saron farms, par;cipate in social ac;vi;es, and work to
generate an income. This has bePer prepared the Associa;on members, and par;cularly its senior
members, to be less dependent on their men when compared to Pashtun Zarghoon Associa;on
members.
As the cases of the two womens associa;on clearly illustrate, DACAAR has been successful in
distribu;ng saron bulbs, providing training, and conduc;ng research in cul;va;on methods,
processing, and marke;ng of saron. It has also facilitated the founding of four grower associa;ons
(including the Associa;on of Women Saron Producers of Pashtun Zarghoon), the establishment of
links between the associa;ons and interna;onal buyers, na;onal conferences on saron in
Afghanistan, and the crea;on of the rst quality control laboratory for saron in Herat, now run by
the Department of Agriculture, Irriga;on, and Livestock. A conference in 2006 resulted in the
crea;on of the Na;onal Saron Coordina;on and Support CommiPee, led by MAIL, to coordinate
the work of dierent ministries and research ins;tu;ons on issues such as produc;on methods,
quality standards, import and export regula;on, and marke;ng.
The elaborate strategy submiPed to MAIL by Hashim Aslami of DACAAR in 2008 calls for a number of
measures to build the Afghan saron produc;on sector including:
-

Introduc;on of new methods for processing and packaging u;lizing state of the art technologies
and adherence to interna;onal quality standards

Provision of marke;ng and branding techniques to create compe;;on among domes;c

producers and strengthen the export base

Priori;za;on of saron produc;on as a viable and protable crop in na;onal strategies to

strengthen licit agricultural produc;on in Afghanistan

Recogni;on of the poten;al of saron produc;on as a means to provide rural livelihoods and
food security, ght poverty, engage women in agricultural produc;on to increase gender equity,
protect the natural environment, and use scarce natural resources sustainably.

The plan calls for human capital development through training and public awareness programmes,
workshops, seminars and introducing saron as a subject of study at Afghan universi;es with
agricultural facul;es. The need to train woman saron producers and linking with other saron
producing countries are also emphasized. The plan points to there having been no systema;c
appraisal of the sector despite its poten;al promise in social and economic reconstruc;on. DACAARs
work on the sector since 1998 is underlined as the only consistent eort to mainstream saron
produc;on and womens role as a key part of that process. To move further in establishing a socio-
economically viable sector the plan calls for the crea;on of saron producing associa;ons and
government and private sector funded research programmes on agronomics, marke;ng, and
packaging of saron.

23

Box 5. Summary of Key Problems and Constraints for Saron Farmers in Afghanistan
Marke<ng of Afghan product
-

-
-

Afghan saron is unrecognized and unbranded in the

market, most goes through Iranian channels. However,
there is strong interest amongst interna;onal buyers
(par;cularly Holland, USA, Australia and Italy) to
procure Afghan saron, provided a guarantee of quality
can be assured.
Lack of quality assurances for interna;onal buyers (no
ISO compliance)
Lack of knowledge of market dynamics, pricing
structures and marke;ng approaches (strong need for
detailed study)
Lack of skills in marke;ng
Lack of compe;;on amongst Afghan exporters

Lack of industry standards

Farmers are not aware of the interna;onal standards for
quality and hygiene required for selling produce directly to
interna;onal customers.
- A grading system based on quality needs to be established
- It is necessary that unless standards are addressed quickly,
then the private sector is likely to move intro Afghan
produc;on and gain market share.
-

Lack of local storage or packaging capacity

Lack of packaging equipment for organizing consignments

to interna;onal markets. It has been proven that prices
uctuate according to the season for instance, prices are
highest just prior to harvest (up to USD$ 8,000 per
kilogram). Without adequate packaging to store saron or
Lack of produc<on capacity
package it in small aPrac;ve packages, local exporters
cannot add maximum value to the nal product or take
- Producers need to be organized in local, provincial and
advantage of price specula;on.
na;onal associa;ons to improve their access to
- Key problems cited are the expense of industrial
technical support
packaging machines, capable of producing the necessary
- Lack of regula;on on corm imports. Farmers have no
packages needed for the western markets. Partnerships
training to iden;fy good quality leaving them vulnerable
may need to be developed with donors and the private
to purchasing bad quality corms. Without this basic
sector to establish a packaging factory. Current produc;on
training, growing saron becomes a high risk investment
levels are likely to be too small for localized investment.
as farmers may lose their ini;al investment.
- High prices and low availability of corm. The increasing
interest in corm has led to an ar;cial increase in corm
Coordina<on between all industry stakeholders
prices. Current investments needed are around USD
$5,000 per hectare which is prohibi;vely expensive for
- More coordina;on is needed between all value chain
many farmers. Corm banks and subsidized corm
actors in the saron industry. Current market outlooks
schemes should be used to improve this situa;on.
show that foreign companies are beginning private sector
- Lack of government support. Some organiza;ons are
opera;ons within Herat, and that China is now moving
impor;ng corm from Iran rather than purchasing from
into saron produc;on. It is clear that the Afghan industry
Afghan farmers at higher prices
will unlikely be able to compete in this environment
- Because of the strong demand for corm, some farmers
unless it organizes itself in a rela;vely short ;meframe.
are now making short term gains by producing corm
Sugges;ons for doing this rstly, we should establish a
rather than producing saron. This is impac;ng the
provincial and na;onal level Saron Promo;onal Centre
horizontal expansion of the industry which, if leT
and organize the industry into more associa;ons.
unregulated, may lead to reduc;ons in overall
Secondly to coordinate regular mee;ngs between
produc;on if farmers remain untrained on corm quality.
interested stakeholder groups and nally, to establish
- Farmers that are given corm by some organiza;ons
provincial and Na;onal level coordina;on commiPees.
may not be trained suciently in its cul;va;on,
par;cularly in bed prepara;on (raised beds), row
spacing, ;mely irriga;on or adequate fer;liza;on.
Shortage of women extension specialists
- More training is needed for farmers in the area of post-
harvest management. This is a key issue, as most
- Promo;ng saron is a prac;cal way to empower women
processing and drying is conducted at a village level.
in a conserva;ve society building on their skills and
tradi;onal roles, to increase incomes and encourage self-
reliance. There are insucient female extension workers
Inequitable Chain Governance
to work with women.
- The main traders tend to consciously undermine
ini;a;ves by womens associa;ons and smaller
producers to move up the value chain by crea;ng
condi;ons for unfair compe;;on.
-
-

Adapted from ICARDA / DACAAR (2008)

24

Most centrally, the plan emphasizes the need for coordina;on of eorts in building the sector
through coopera;on and informa;on sharing by all actors. Part of intensifying this coordina;on is
the poten;ally pivotal role expected of the recently established Na;onal Saron Coordina;on and
Support CommiPee. Finally, aPen;on is drawn to the need for tailor-made nancial products to suit
saron producers specic and unique needs as paramount in further development and expansion of
the sector.28
In a similar vain, ICARDA/DACAAR (2008) provides a comprehensive list of problems and constraints
confronted by the nascent sector (Box 5). This manual for saron produc;on goes beyond its
primary intent of being a how-to guide by speaking authorita;vely and based on many years of
experience on a number of issues relevant to the sector including the suitability of the crop to the
ecological condi;ons in Afghanistan, interna;onal product standards, marke;ng strategies, priori;es
for the development of the sector, input costs and revenues from saron produc;on, and current
(2007) prices. A major omission in this valuable resource book is a discussion of the governance of
the saron chain, the inequi;es of which are likely to frustrate ini;a;ves by women to move up the
value chain and by the government and donor agencies to strengthen the sector in a gender-
equitable manner.

6. Key Findings from the Case Study

Womens par;cipa;on in the saron produc;on and processing has been signicant to the
development of the saron business in Afghanistan, par;cularly during the last 2-3 years. Women
prepare saron bulbs for plan;ng, help men prepare the land, help plan;ng the bulbs, maintain the
plants by weeding, watering, and breaking of the soil crust. At harvest ;me women (and children)
collect the owers, process the owers by separa;ng the saron s;gmas, and dry and package the
saron.
While women are present throughout the value chain, their presence is most visible in the lower
levels of the chain. Saron is labour intensive at the cul;va;on, harves;ng, and processing stages.
Prior to plan;ng, bulbs need to be siTed to separate out the damaged bulbs, cleaned and then
planted following specic guidelines. This is a joint task performed by both men and women. While
men are responsible for physically heavier du;es, women carry out the tedious and ;me consuming
parts of the process. Womens work is limited largely to plan;ng on their own or their families
farms.
Womens highest contribu;on in the saron value chain is provided during the harves;ng and
processing stages. All women of the family and most of the female rela;ves and neighbours are likely
to be needed to help at the peak of ower harves;ng season. This includes younger male and female
_____________________________________________________________________________________

28 Translated from the original in Dari. MAIL ocials interviewed for this study were aware of the existence of the

CommiPee but no details were available as to what it had accomplished since incep;on.

25

family members. Flower harves;ng begins before sunrise for a few hours. Pickers collect thousands
of owers which then have to be processed by having their s;gmas removed. Most key informants
were in agreement with one another regarding the bePer performance of women demonstrated
through their superior skills, speed, and pa;ence when collec;ng owers and separa;ng s;gmas.
Ocials interviewed from two saron trading companies both favoured hiring women as opposed to
men for processing the owers because women were bePer workers and cost less than men.
Womens role weakens as we move up the value chain and as the work performed requires less
physical energy and skills and more investment capital, business rela;ons, and culturally sanc;oned
freedom to move and manoeuvre in a market environment. This starts at the stage when the saron
is to be packaged and/or branded and is ready to be marketed and sold. All three major saron
businesses in Herat belong to and are operated by men. This is the stage where the balance of power
in chain governance shiTs toward the men who own large saron trading enterprises. Women are
consciously barred by the powerful saron oligopoly from entering the market and compe;ng fairly.
Aside from being absent at higher stages of the saron value chain, women also get paid less than
men for the same work. For instance, the owner and CEO of one of the saron companies in Herat
admiPed that he paid women twenty percent less than the men who processed saron owers for
him in 2008. He also added that women did a bePer job than men.29 One large saron processing /
packaging owner stated that the main reason for employing women was the unwillingness of the
men to work for the same wage as women. The greatest case of inequity can be observed in the ra;o
of work performed versus the income accrued to men and women from the value adding ac;vi;es.
While the general consensus among those interviewed was that women do most of the dicult work
throughout the value chain, the unstated fact was that they shared signicantly less of the value
generated through their hard work.
Saron produc;on has a proven poten;al to create more, and rela;vely lucra;ve, jobs for women at
home and away from home even when they do not own land. Those who own farmland can
generate handsome prots from growing saron. Saron produc;on requires fewer labour hours
than most crops and hence provides an opportunity for women to become involved in other income
genera;ng ac;vi;es such as weaving carpets and tailoring.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

29 APPRO interview with Afghan Zafran, conducted on 30 September 2009.

26

7. Conclusion
Gender inequity in saron produc;on is a func;on of land ownership arrangements, ini;al capital,
division of labour within the household, tradi;ons, cultural and religious norms, level of educa;on,
and biased and unhealthy market prac;ces by some actors. The combined impact of these factors
places women at a signicant disadvantage against men, even when women are able to overcome
some of the other main barriers such as access to capital or gaining their husbands approval to
work. This situa;on speaks to the prevalence of the largely behavioural and cogni;ve structures (see
Box 2) that govern gender rela;ons throughout Afghanistan with some structures rela;ng to the
place of woman being s;ckier than others.
Gammage et al. (2005) iden;fy four types of markets that can constrain gender mainstreaming
eorts: Labour, Finance, Goods, and Services. Labour market reform to remove constraints for
women is perhaps a possibility in Afghanistans distant future. Changes in the nance market,
however, have been well underway since 2003 and through a prolifera;on of Micornance
Ins;tu;ons (MFIs) regulated by the Micronance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan
(MISFA). While numerous MFIs have taken an ac;ve role in encouraging the forma;on of women
borrower groups as part of their broader mandate, none of the four MFIs interviewed for this study
reported providing loans to saron growers. There were two reasons for this. First, no saron
producer group had approached any of them. And second, and most importantly, no MFI in
Afghanistan is currently prepared to provide loans that run beyond 12 months. On asking whether
MFIs would consider lending to women saron producers, the response was a guarded yes and
based on a number of condi;ons including guarantees for the borrowers, subsidies to alleviate the
pressure of accumulated interest (25% minimum per year), and favourable results from piloted
micronance products to suit the saron producers needs. Security was also listed as a factor to be
considered since saron growing areas of Pashtun Zarghoon and Ghoryan have not been deemed as
safe for MFIs presence.
A signicant por;on of the saron goods market remains informal (unregistered). It is conceivable to
bring to account some of the informali;es through regulatory interven;on but, as with most cases of
formaliza;on aPempts by the Government and the interna;onal donors, these eorts are likely to
be largely ineec;ve, at least in the immediate term. A large por;on of the Afghan-produced saron
is likely to con;nue to be shipped in bulk to other countries for packaging, most likely to avoid paying
taxes on retail of packaged saron. The saron sector has beneted enormously from the ini;a;ves
of organiza;ons such as DACAAR and ICARADA which appear to have made signicant strides in
providing some of the essen;al services to the sector.
Gammage et al. (2005) also refer to capabili;es and en;tlements in dealing with poverty and
depriva;on, both of which have signicant implica;ons for any analysis of agricultural produc;on
and par;cularly one with gender mainstreaming as a focus of study. Much of the en;tlement for the
saron sector as a whole has been provided through DACAARs work since 1998. In addi;on,

27

DACAAR appears to have been instrumental in facilita;ng the emergence of the Associa;on of
Women Saron Producers of Pashtun Zarghon by providing exper;se and input materials such as
saron bulbs. DACAAR also seems to have provided the women with capabili;es to act
independently and to run a protable opera;on. Much work remains to be done in both
en;tlements and capabili;es par;cularly if we include in aid programming priori;es land ;tling
arrangements, access to nance, and educa;on.
Opportuni;es for women can be improved through further facilita;on by organiza;ons similar in
mandate to DACAAR and, perhaps more importantly, coordina;on of these eorts by such bodies as
the Na;onal Saron Coordina;on and Support CommiPee which, unfortunately, appears to have
been largely inac;ve since incep;on in 2006. The recent poli;cal turmoil in the country in the
aTermath of the Presiden;al Elec;ons and the disarray that spread through the various Government
Ministries including MAIL could not have been helpful to opera;on of any cross-ministerial body,
however.
In the absence of a whole host of pre-requisites such as a widely recognized regulatory framework,
func;oning ministries and cross-ministerial commiPees, and rule of law and security it is unrealis;c
to expect that chain governance and gender issues could be addressed formally and through
regulatory channels. Financial independence for women (through access to aordable loans, for
example) and consensual contrac;ng mechanisms between women producers and the larger
producers mediated by intermediaries such as DACAAR may be useful intermediate measures to
address some of the most pressing inequi;es in produc;on.
The tradi;onal view of women as mainly homemakers is more visible in the rural parts of the
country as compared to urban areas in which some women can work outside of home and
supplement the income generated by the male household members. Tradi;onally men are in control
of the accumulated wealth of the family and act as the households main decision maker. While
female household income earners may gain more of a voice in household decision making, the
balance of power over the use of household assets remains with men and legi;mated and
strengthened by the religious inheritance laws which en;tle a woman to half of what a man receives.
The possibili;es for women to gain a higher degree of independence based on accumulated wealth
are thus limited due to this very cons;tu;ve structure (Box 2). Over ;me, this has resulted in
mens possession of most of the land in the family. A number of women from both saron producing
associa;ons in Herat spoke of these factors at length and in terms of their disadvantaged posi;on to
prot more from growing saron.
While only a few of the women owned their own farms, most of them were plan;ng on the farms
belonging to men or the family. The decision on whether or not to let a women have a saron
planta;on of her own rests mostly with men. However, we also found that the saron bulb
distribu;on programmes by NGOs which targeted women as their beneciaries had made a posi;ve
dierence in womens ability to secure farms of their own. In nearly all cases, women lacked the

28

ini;al capital to buy saron bulb and had to borrow from men to pay the cost or to receive bulbs free
of charge from development aid agencies such as DACAAR ac;ve in their area.
The dominant cogni;ve ins;tu;ons rooted in social, cultural, and religious beliefs also deter women
from reaching the markets. Womens unwillingness, fear, or prohibi;on to freely explore the markets
limits their capacity to eec;vely employ the limited resources they have at their disposal to make a
fair prot from their contribu;ons to the saron value chain. The women from the Associa;on of
Women Saron Producers of Pashtun Zarghoon reported that while the Associa;on consists
primarily of female members, the main decisions are made by its few male members. A group
discussion with both male and female members of the associa;on revealed that women had liPle
knowledge of the saron na;onal and interna;onal markets. Most of them had to go through the
male members of their families or the Associa;on to sell their produce, buy, or receive bulbs or
other input materials. The barriers to womens full par;cipa;on in economic / entrepreneurial
ac;vity is compounded by unchecked prejudices of male-dominated market oligopolies (Box 4)
which regulate the market unfavourably for women.30
There is ground to assume, based on a comparison of the two womens Associa;ons, that the
womens educa;onal background and exposure to other contexts play a role in determining their
place in the saron value chain. Ghoryans Associa;on was formed by a number of educated, well-
groomed, and well-spoken women. They have managed to convince several na;onal and
interna;onal aid agencies as well as a number of government organiza;ons to assist them with their
ac;vi;es and plans. The higher level of educa;on among these women seems symptoma;c of the
Ghoryan community in general. Also, a large number of the women have traveled in the wider region
and lived in other countries. All the women interviewed from this Associa;on appeared to be
enjoying rela;vely more freedom in the community than their counterparts in Pashtun Zarghoon.
That the work by DACAAR and other organiza;ons can facilitate the emergence of the two womens
associa;ons in Ghoryan and Pashtun Zarghoon is testament to the importance of the role of
associa;ve ins;tu;ons (Box 2) as key ingredients for challenging and ul;mately overcoming the
governance inequi;es of the saron value chain. Gender inequi;es cannot, however, be eliminated
through the crea;on of womens associa;ons alone. Systemic change in chain governance requires
con;nued support, nurturing and even protec;on of these associa;ons, regulatory reform, and (dis)
incen;ves aimed at crea;ng an enabling environment conducive to the emergence of a level playing
eld for all actors in the saron value chain.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

30 See Regula;ve Ins;tu;ons, Box 2.

29

References
Abdullaev, F. (1998). Biological Proper;es and Medicinal Use of Saron (Crocus Sa3vus L.).
Available at: hPp://www.actahort.org/books/739/739_44.htm, accessed January 3, 2010
Barrientos, S. (2001). Gender, exibility and global value chains. Ins;tute for Development Studies
(IDS), IDS Bulle3n 32(3).
Barrientos, S. (2003). Corporate social responsibility, employment and global sourcing by
mul;na;onal enterprises. ILO, Mul3na3onals and Employment, 1 15.
Blake, M. and S. Hanson (2005). Rethinking innova;on: Context and gender. Environment and
Planning A (37), pp. 681-701.
Bolwig, S., S. Ponte, A. du Toit, L. Riisgaard, N. Halberg (2008). Integra;ng poverty, gender, and
environmental concerns into value chain analysis: A conceptual framework and lessons for
ac;on research. DIIS . Danish Ins;tute for Interna;onal Studies.
Byravan, S. (2008). Gender and Innova;on in South Asia. (OPawa: IDRC). Available at: hPp://
www.idrc.ca/en/ev-130670-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html, accessed March 15, 2009.
ICARDA (2007). Caravan (24), June 2007, available at: hPp://www.icarda.org/Publica;ons/Caravan/
Caravan24/Focus_4.htm, accessed January 3, 2010.
ICARDA / DACAAR (2008). Saron Manual for Afghanistan. Available at: www.icarda.org/Ralfweb/
PDFs/SaronManualForAfghanistan.pdf, accessed January 4, 2010.
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, (2008). Afghanistan Na;onal Development Strategy 2008 2013: A
Strategy for Security, Governance, Economic Growth and Poverty Reduc;on.
Kaplinsky, R. and Morris, M. (2001). A handbook for value chain research. Report prepared for
IDRC. IDS Sussex: Brighton.
Laven, A., A. Senders, C. van Wees, and R. Snelder (2009). Gender in value chains: Emerging lessons
and ques;ons A draT working paper. Agri-ProFucus.
Millns, J. (2007). Value chains for Agricultural Products in A|anistan. November 2007.
Parto, S. (2008). Innova;on and Economic Ac;vity: Understanding the Role of Clusters in
Industrializing Economies, Journal of Economic Issues, 42(4): 1005-1035
Samson (2006). Gender and Science, Technology, and Innova;on. (OPawa: IDRC). Available at:
www.idrc.ca, accessed March 30, 2009.
Tallon;re, A., S. Barrientos, C. Dolan & S. Smith (2005). Reaching the marginalized? Gender value
chain and ethical trade in African hor;culture. Development in Prac3ce 15(3&4):559-571.
UNIFEM (2008). Annual Report 2008-2009. Available at: hPp://zunia.org/post/unifem-annual-
report-2008-2009/, accessed April 10, 2009.
World Bank (2008). High value agriculture in Bangladesh: An assessment of agro-business
opportuni;es and Constrains, Bangladesh development series: paper No. 21. Available at:
hPp://zunia.org/post/high-value-agriculture-in-bangladesh-as-assessment-of-agro-business-
opportuni;es-and-constraints/, accessed March 30, 2009.

30

Appendix 1: Saron Value Chain Actor Map

31

Appendix 2. List of Organiza;ons Interviewed

(Names have been removed to maintain conden;ality)
1. MAIL, Herat
2. Faculty of Agriculture, Herat University
3. Afghan Zafaran, Herat
4. Afghan Red Gold, Herat
5. DACAAR, Herat
6. DACAAR, Herat
7. Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Herat
8. USAID/ASMED
9. SDO - Sanayee Development Organiza;on
10. First Micronance Bank
11. Ghoryan Women Saron Associa;on
12. Ghoryan Women Saron Associa;on
13. Ghoryan Women Saron Associa;on
14. Ghoryan Women Saron Associa;on
15. Pashtoon Zarghoon Women Saron Associa;on
16. Pashtoon Zarghoon Women Saron Associa;on
17. FAO, Herat
18. Female CDC in Ghoryan
19. Herat Chamber of Commerce
20. MADRAC
21. AWBF
22. Export Promo;on Agency of Afghanistan
23. MAIL, Herat
24. CRS
25. Afghan Red Gold
26. Pashtoon Zarghoon
27. AISA - Herat
28. DADS - Training Services
29. ACCI - Herat
30. AISA - Herat
31. Various saron retails in Herat City
32. BRAC
33. FMFB
34. FINCA Afghanistan

32