Opium production increasing in Afghanistan: UN

An Afghan man harvests opium sap from the bulb of the plants in Nangarhar Province. (File photo)

The United Nations warns that opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan has been on the rise for the third year in a row and it is expected to hit a record high.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) issued a report entitled “The Afghanistan Opium Winter Risk Assessment 2013” on Monday.

According to the report, although the exact figure for opium production in 2013 is still unclear, it is expected to surpass the 154,000 hectares planted in 2012, and the 131,000 hectares in 2011.

The report predicted that out of Afghanistan's 34 provinces, 12 provinces are expected to increase their opium production, while no major change is expected in seven others.

“The southern region is expected to remain the largest opium cultivating region in Afghanistan in 2013. Poppy cultivation in Helmand and Kandahar, the main opium cultivating provinces in the country, is expected to increase and Helmand is expected to retain its status as the largest opium cultivating province in the country,” the report said.

The report noted that international efforts aimed at weaning local farmers off the crop have so far achieved no significant success.

“As we have predicted, opium will go up for a third year in a row," said Jean-Luc Lemahieu, head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in Afghanistan, which prepared the report in cooperation with the Afghan Counternarcotics Ministry.

“We are looking at a record high cultivation,” he added.

The report attributed the rise in production to a considerable price hike which has made poppy cultivation attractive to farmers.

In 2010, prices started skyrocketing after blight damaged much of the crop, rising from about USD 60-85 a kilogram to USD 300 a kilogram in 2011.

“Afghanistan is to turn into a narco-state unless and until there is a comprehensive strategy that is adopted now," said UNODC deputy representative, Ashita Mittal, adding, “Time is not on our side.”

Head of the Afghan counternarcotics police in Helmand Province Mohammad Abdali says his forces face resistance from the Taliban who had taken control of some poppy growing regions.

"This is an area where the Taliban [have] told people that they can cultivate poppy and the government can't destroy it," he added.

Opium cultivation in Afghanistan has been on the rise since the US-led war began in 2001.

In 2012, Afghanistan, the world's largest opium producer, provided about 75 percent of the global crop and the figure is expected to jump to 90 percent in 2013.

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