Afghanistan ends opium poppy cultivation

Farmers in Afghanistan, the world's number one producer of opium poppy, did not plant the illegal crop this year. Following a ban on poppy cultivation issued by the head of the TALIBAN in July 2000, UNDCP was able to verify thousands of hectares of poppy-free land in February 2001.

Since 1999, Afghanistan has produced approximately 75 per cent of the world's opium cultivated on 91,000 hectares in 1999 and 82,000 hectares in 2000. A survey team led by the UNDCP regional office in Islamabad visited 80 per cent of the known poppy growing areas in the 51 districts known to have produced 86 per cent of last year's crop. The team found less than 30 hectares of poppy which were later eradicated. This signals the potential reduction of opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan by at least 70,000 hectares this year.

"Whereas last year, during the flowering season, one could observe a blanket of poppy flowers, this year the farmers have been planting wheat and to a lesser extent other licit crops" said Bernard Frahi, UNDCP Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan, who led the pre-assessment team.

While the international community has welcomed the implementation of the ban, the economic and social consequences brought on by the abrupt halt in opium production to former poppy growing communities are dramatic.

In this context, UNDCP facilitated a donors assessment mission to Afghanistan at the end of April, comprising of experts from Belgium, Canada, the European Commission, Germany, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and the United States. The mission visited former poppy growing villages and markets to analyse the needs of the population and factors that would prevent the resumption of poppy cultivation with a view to defining the scope of intervention required in the short, medium and long-term.