Welcome fall in opium

The latest Afghanistan Opium Survey indicates a surprising decline in opium poppy cultivation this year.

Afghanistan has consistently topped the global list of the biggest cultivators of opium.

The latest Afghanistan Opium Survey indicates a surprising decline in opium poppy cultivation this year.

Afghanistan has consistently topped the global list of the biggest cultivators of opium. But for the first time since 2009, estimates show production has reduced by nearly half, from 6,400 tonnes to 3,300 tonnes, according to a report published on Oct 14.

The twin reasons for the decrease are natural calamities and destruction of opium fields. Roughly 40 percent of opium farms were razed to the ground by security forces, according to the report.

Minister of Counter Narcotics Salamat Azimi said at a joint press conference with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) that the production of narcotics has seen a massive reduction. “The survey shows that some 19 percent decrease has occurred in cultivation of opium over 2014; some 48 percent decrease in production of narcotics has also occurred. This is the first time such a decrease has been seen,” she said.

UNODC representative for the region Andrey Avetisyan expressed satisfaction with the report’s findings. The survey last year had cast a pall of gloom all around with the area under cultivation and production showing an overall increase.

The number of poppy-free provinces has fallen in 2015. For instance Balkh, in the northern region, which had regained the status in 2014, has lost it again this year. Security has become steadily worse in the North, which was once free of conflict.

Helmand, with some 86,400 ha (47 percent of the national total), remains the country’s major opium-cultivating province, according to the survey. This is followed by Farah (21,106 ha), Kandahar (21,020 ha), and Badghis (12,391 ha). Separately, opium cultivation decreased in most of the main opium poppy-growing provinces, notably Nangarhar, Nimroz and Kandahar (which saw declines of 45, 40 and 38 per cent, respectively), but climbed in the provinces of Badghis (by 117 per cent) and Uruzgan (by 22 per cent). As in previous years, the available technology used to conduct the crop monitoring and assessment between 2014 and 2015 has again been refined and sharpened, leading to greater accuracy of estimates but which may have an impact on the extent of year-on-year changes, says a report on the UNODC website.

In addition, the report says that in terms of eradication, efforts across the country led by the various provincial governments increased a collective 40 per cent, compared to last year, or from around 2,700 ha to 3,760 ha. During the latest eradication campaign, there were fewer casualties reported than the previous year: in 2015, five lives were lost and 18 persons were injured compared to 2014, when 13 lives were lost and 26 persons injured.

The southern region has the country’s largest share of national opium production with 58 percent recorded, which equals some 1,900 tonnes. Afghanistan’s second most important opium producing region is in the west, responsible for 22 percent of national production (720 tonnes), followed by the eastern region with 13 percent (450 tonnes). The remaining areas (north-eastern, northern and central regions) together account for less than 8 percent of opium production.

The low production can be attributed to a reduction in area under cultivation, but more importantly to a drop in opium yield per hectare. This yield decreased in all main opium poppy cultivating regions, led by the southern region, with a 45 per cent decrease, followed by the western region (20 percent) and the eastern region (8 percent).

Baz Mohammad Ahmadi, secretary to the deputy minister for counter narcotics says much headway has been made to check drugs smuggling.