Afghan authorities begin poppy eradication campaign in Kandahar

[News_Editor]

Afghan authorities begin poppy eradication campaign in Kandahar

2011-04-01 01:42:56 GMT+7 (ICT)

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- Afghan authorities cleared of poppies eight hundred acres of land in various districts of southern Kandahar province as part of a provincial eradication campaign, Pajhwok Afghan News reported Thursday.

The head of the counternarcotics campaign, Gul Muhammad Shukran, said the work would continue for two months in districts which had spring growing season and that the Afghan National Army, police and locals were cooperating.

The campaign was launched two weeks ago by Kandahar governor Toryalai Weesa, who said poppy cultivation had decreased due to the distribution of improved seeds and fertilizers to farmers and better advocacy. In addition, a shortage of rainfall and cold weather have destroyed many poppy crops, facilitating the work.

While many farmers are forced by insurgents to grow poppies on their land, one resident said they were growing poppies because other crops were not as lucrative. Earlier this year, the United Nations warned that rising opium prices may encourage Afghan farmers to plant more of the narcotic crop.

Another resident said the government should launch long-term programs to support alternative forms of farming, to prevent drug smuggling and help those who are addicted.

Officials in Kandahar province say there are 60,000 addicts while there is only one 20-bed rehabilitation clinic. The minister for counternarcotics and the agriculture and livestock minister, Muhammad Asif Rahimi, said a few weeks ago that the increase in the number of addicts and a lack of regional cooperation were the biggest challenges in eradicating poppy growing.

Afghan traffickers are heavily involved in shipping opiates – morphine and heroin – abroad, notably to Iran and Pakistan, and to a lesser extent, Central Asia.

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