An Afghan peasant has been honoured with the state’s highest award, the Ghazi Wazir Mohammad Akbar Khan State Medal, for growing saffron instead of opium in his native province of Herat.

It is hoped that the recipient of the award, whose name is also Akbar Khan, will become a role model for others.

Afghanistan is said to be responsible for more than 90 percent of the world's opium production.

President Hamid Karzai’s government is encouraging farmers to give up cultivating opium and switch to growing saffron, considered the most important spice in the cuisine of the region.

Khan has already taught over six hundred farmers to grow what is also the most expensive spice in the world.

According to Afghanistan’s agriculture ministry, last year the price for one kilogram of saffron grew six fold, making it more profitable than growing opium.

Saffron doesn’t require as much effort and water as poppy. Planted in autumn, the flowers are harvested a few months later.

However, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the opium poppy still remains the crop of choice in seven of the country's 34 provinces.