At a field outside Kozani, northern Greece, the strikingly blue-and-purple petals of saffron give off an intoxicating scent that underscores the value of one of the country’s most lucrative crops.

But beneath the beautiful flowers, which can fetch five to nine euros ($5.45-9.8) for a single gramme, the earth is cracked and parched after uncommonly long periods of drought, taking a toll on the crop’s yield. “We haven’t had a good dose of rain in our area since May,” sighed veteran saffron farmer Grigoris Tzidimopoulos.

After the warmest winter and summer since detailed records began in 1960, Greece has now experienced its driest month of October in the last 15 years, according to the national observatory.

“This field used to give us more than a pound (454 grammes) per acre. Last year... from nine acres in all, the yield was three pounds,” 68-year-old Tzidimopoulos said. “Ten or 12 years ago when I sowed, it often snowed. Now we have neither snow nor rain,” he added.

A farmer separates blue-and-purple flower petals of saffron from the stigmas with a centrifuge in a warehouse in the village of Krokos.

Employees weight and pack stigmas of saffron in the building of a cooperative in the village of Krokos.

This photograph shows organic stigmas of saffron in a glass container.

Farmers harvest blue-and-purple flower petals of saffron in a field of the village of Krokos.

A farmer holds in his hands stigmas of saffron as they dry onto wooden planks in a warehouse in the village of Krokos.

A farmer collects stigmates separated from blue-and-purple flower petals of saffron with a centrifuge in a warehouse.

Farmers harvest blue-and-purple flower petals of saffron in a field of the village of Krokos, near Kozani, north-west Greece.—AFP photos

Farmers harvest blue-and-purple flower petals of saffron.

A woman harvests blue-and-purple flower petals of saffron in a field of the village of Krokos.

An employee weights stigmas of saffron in the building of a cooperative.

This photograph shows organic stigmas of saffron in a glass container.

A woman harvests blue-and-purple flower petals of saffron in a field of the village of Krokos.

Ancient tradition

Harvested in Greece for at least 3,600 years -- a saffron picker is even immortalized in a Minoan-era fresco -- the spice is commonly used to flavor rice, chicken and fish but can also be found in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

At the local village of Krokos and in about 20 other neighboring villages in Kozani, the inhabitants have systematically cultivated saffron since the 17th century. Around 1,000 farmers live from the crop in the area and are intimately familiar with the microclimate that the plant requires order to perform better.

About 5,200 hectares of land (12,800 acres) cultivated here produce the largest quantity of saffron in Europe. The local Krokos Kozani variety, also known as Greek saffron, enjoys protected designation status at European Union level.

Seventy percent of the product is exported to over 20 countries, with the largest markets being Switzerland and the United States. And the regional cooperative, set up in 1971, has the exclusive right to collect, package and distribute the product.

Sissy Ioana, 40, has been working the fields for over 10 years and knows from experience whether the upcoming harvest will be a good one. “Every year the crop is worse,” she said, holding up a freshly cut flower to show the red or orange threads that, once dried, make saffron.