Safflower is one of the winter/spring-growing annual herbs that farmers from the northern and western countryside of Hama and the southern countryside of Idlib moved to the area after they were displaced and settled there.
Farmer Ibrahim Rahal, 60, an IDP from Maarat Harmah in the southern countryside of Idlib, told Enab Baladi that safflower cultivation was previously widespread in the city of Maarat al-Numan and its countryside and the southern countryside of Idlib. It is about harvesting the florets that come out of the rose after its maturity and using it as a kind of food spice.
Rahal said that farmers benefit from florets and seeds, as safflower oil is extracted from them, and part of the seeds are used as fodder for birds and animals, and some of it is exported to neighboring countries, where a ton of it is sold for about $600.
During the year 2022, farmers sold a kilo of safflower for about $17. However, the farmers’ interest in cultivating it this year could negatively affect the selling price, according to the farmer.
Read more at enabbaladi.net