Afghanistan Worries Drought May Boost Drug Trade
Date: 26-Jul-06
Country: AFGHANISTAN
Author: Zeeshan Haider
Afghanistan produces around 90 percent of the world's opium and the United Nations fears cultivation levels of poppy are back on the rise after production decreased in the immediate aftermath of the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.
Vice President Karim Khalili warned that poor farmers might resort to cultivating less water-intensive poppy if the international community does not help them combat drought.
"The first negative impact of the drought is that farmers might be forced to illegally cultivate poppy if production (of other crops) falls sharply," he said.
"If there is hunger, then it is natural that they will resort to this (cultivation)."
Security analysts say money made from selling opium helps pay for the insurgency by Taliban militants, which is at its worst since 2001.
Much of the insurgency is focused in strife-stricken southern region, which is also home to the country's main poppy-growing provinces.
Afghanistan is the world's largest heroin-producing and trafficking country, and latest figures show illicit opium production accounts for roughly a third of the country's total economy.
The United Nations said Afghanistan is set to face acute food shortages in the coming months due to inadequate rainfall in April and May, especially in the rain-fed areas.
It is estimated the drought will affect up to an additional 2.5 million people living in mostly rain-fed areas. Some 6.5 million people are already seasonally or chronically food insecure.
Afghanistan's total cereal consumption needs this year are estimated at 6 million tonnes against the production of 4.8 million tonnes.
The rain-fed cereal harvest is usually 1.6 million tonnes, but is expected to fall to 800,000 tonnes this year.
Chris Alexander, a senior UN envoy, said acute food shortages could trigger a humanitarian crisis, including migration of rural people to cities.
