Afghan Opium harvest to soar by 34 pc : UNODC

Kabul, Aug 27 (UNI) Afghanistan's opium harvest is expected to soar to a record breaking 8,200 tonnes, an increase of 34 per cent over the past year, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

In a report released by UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa, the UN body attributed the increase to better yields and a 17 per cent increase in the area under cultivation.

The UNODC noted that the provinces of Southern Afghanistan accounted for 80 per cent of the poppy cultivation with the province of Helmund alone accounting for 102,770 out of a total area of 193,000 hectares.

The area under opium cultivation in Helmund rose by 48 per cent over 2006. Despite common wisdom, which links poppy cultivation to lack of viable economic alternatives, the UNODC has pointed out that the poorer provinces of the South with less than half the per capita of some of the southern provinces, had shown good results.

The number of poppy free provinces, all of them in North and central Afghanistan, more than doubled from six to 13 and the UNODC said making 17 of the country's 34 provinces opium free was an achievable target by 2008.

The UNODC Chief was, however, quick to point out that some of the opium free provinces stood in danger of sliding back if sufficient economic incentives were not provided. While there was a great deal of assistance available, it was not being disbursed fast enough, he added.

He also called for greater deterrents to dissuade farmers from cultivating poppy and greater action against collusion and corruption that helped rich landlords evade eradication.

Mr Costa said poppy cultivation was directly linked to insecurity and inversely related to the degree of government control. He called for greater action by the Afghan government and also urged NATO to actively support counter narcotics operations.

Despite the obvious linkages between narcotics trade and insurgency NATO was so far kept away from counter narcotics operations on the grounds that it is not part of its mandate.

Earlier this year, NATO troops in Helmund were accused of sending the wrong signals encouraging poppy farmers by issuing messages distancing themselves from the counter narcotics efforts. Though this was later rescinded, the message it appears, had gone across.

International forces have been reluctant to take on narco traffickers on the grounds that opening another front would make their job more difficult.

With the increase in opium production, Afghanistan now accounts for 92 per cent of the global production of opium. The area under opium cultivation in Afghanistan was more than the combined total under cocoa cultivation in Latin America, Colombia, Peru and Bolivia, the UNODC stated.

UNI