Reduction in poppy growing in Afghanistan

Afghanistan’s Governor of Helmand Gulab Mangal is being supported by £8 million of UK Government aid to back his Food Zones programme this autumn.

The project hopes to sign up 39,000 farmers to grow wheat not opium poppy in the coming year.

It follows the large 33% reduction in poppy growing in the war torn province this year during the first year of the scheme, and a 22% reduction across the rest of the country.

The new figures were released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) this week, and come as Prime Minister Gordon Brown presented a major speech on the UK’s role and work in Afghanistan.

UNODC’s Executive Director Antonio Costa said:

”The dramatic turn-around in Helmand can be attributed to an effective mix of sticks and carrots: governor leadership; a more aggressive counter-narcotics offensive; terms of trade more favourable to legal crops and the successful introduction of food zones to promote legal farming.”

The success in the Afghanistan drugs war is backed by seizures of narcotics and raids on processing labs by British, other coalition and Afghan soldiers in Helmand.

Under the Food Zone scheme farmers will pay for subsidised high quality wheat seed and fertilizer, followed by technical assistance to encourage them to put legal crops in the ground this planting season.

The scheme was launched last year (2008/09) and helped 32,000 farmers turn to wheat to feed their families and sell on the market rather than poppy.

These farmers are expected to retain some of their crop as seed to plant again this year so that it is hoped over 70,000 farmers will be involved in the programme.

Governor Mangal said:

”It was the courage and struggle of the people of Helmand that brought the decrease in opium.

We launched the Food Zone programme last year in the province. Britain was the first country to announce their support and help this programme. The British and US have donated almost $12m. We have distributed fertilisers and wheat seed to approximately 32800 farmers in Helmand. This year we have expanded the programme. We are planning to distribute chemical fertiliser and wheat to an extra 39,000 farmers, within the Food Zone programme.

We have achieved a 33% decrease in opium, which is great and astonishing news for all of us.

We always say that narcotics are the reason behind this darkness and insecurity in the province. So let’s avoid this bloody reason together. “

£5 million of this year‘s assistance comes from DFID as part of its commitment to restoring the legitimate agricultural base in Helmand province.

DFID is also spending £6.3 million to improve the new civilian airport in Lashkar Gah and the agriculture business park next door to increase legal business opportunities and access to markets.

In June UK and Afghan forces destroyed 5,500kg of opium paste. They also destroyed 10 narcotics processing labs; 100kg heroin; 220kg morphine; 8,000 kg of pre-cursor chemicals as well as substantial quantities of arms and ammunition. The local value of this haul is estimated to be in the region of $550,000.

Topics: agriculture, Britain, DFID, economic growth, Economy, England, Governance, legal farming, poppy, trade, UK

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