Decrease in opium production for second year in a row

3 Sep 2009

Decrease in opium production for second year in a row

3 September 2009 - Afghan Government authorities and international partners expressed their satisfaction at the drastic decrease in opium production in Afghanistan during a press conference held at the Government Information and Media Centre in Kabul yesterday.

 

Opium cultivation is down by 22 per cent, while two more provinces are considered poppy free, raising to 20 (out of 34) the number of provinces estimated to have less than 100 hectares of opium cultivation.

Introducing the speakers, Peter Galbraith, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan, expressed his “pleasure to be here on an occasion when there is good news to report”.

Mr Galbraith acknowledged the commitment of the Afghan Ministry of Counter-narcotics and its partners and steadfast support in its fight against drug production.

General Khodaidad, Minister for Counter-narcotics, stressed: “I am grateful for the work of the provincial governors, made possible by the intervention of the government of Afghanistan and its allies, as well as local leaders and influential elders.”

 

Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the UNODC, had travelled to Kabul for the occasion.

He declared that “this is a joint effort”, insisting on the successful partnership between the Ministry of Counter-narcotics and the UNODC. He underlined positive decrease “in every single physical indicator”: cultivation, production, revenues and exports, among others, adding “we see seven additional provinces with marginal production”, which Mr Costa hopes to see improve more during the next agricultural cycle.

Both Mr Khodaidad and Mr Costa singled out Helmand province, “the epicenter of opium cultivation in Afghanistan”, indicating that the amount of opium cultivated in Helmand (is larger) than anywhere else in the world; greater than coca cultivation in Columbia and cannabis in Morocco as “the most encouraging improvement”, due to the successful introduction of food zones, where farmers are given crops in order to promote licit farming.

Urging the international community to extend its support to the counter-narcotics programmes, and to help fund alternative livelihood activities, the executive director of the UNODC told journalists that these successes impact on the financial capacities of the insurgents. He also called on the upcoming government to be hard on corruption, which he sees as the enabling factor to drug production.

By Henri Burgard, UNAMA

Website: UNODC Afghanistan