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 veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 6,079
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 9 percent of Afghanis grow opium: survey
#5049717 - 12/11/05 08:03 PM (2 years, 9 months ago) |
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9 percent of Afghanis grow opium
December 12, 2005 - theaustralian.news.com.au
TWO million people, or nearly nine per cent of Afghanistan's population, are involved in the cultivation of illegal opium, according to a government and UN survey released today.
However, the farmers receive less than 20 per cent of the profits from the illicit crop used to make heroin, the annual survey said.
War-ravaged and destitute Afghanistan is the world's leading supplier of opium, accounting for an estimated 80 per cent of the global total.
Initial results of the survey were released in August showing that the area under poppy cultivation in 2005 had dropped by 21 per cent compared to 2004.
But potential opium production was estimated to fall by only 2.4 per cent compared to 2004, to reach about 4100 tonnes, in part because of favourable weather.
In line with the decrease in cultivation, the number of households involved in poppy cultivation fell by 13 per cent to 309,000 in 2005, the UN and government office on fighting drugs said in a statement about the survey.
"The total number of people involved in cultivation has been estimated at two million, or 8.7 per cent of the population," they said.
Traffickers made most of the profit from the country's illicit drugs trade, amounting to about $US2.14 billion ($2.86 billion), while less than 20 per cent $US560 million ($748.06 million) went to the farmers, the survey found.
The total export value of opium in 2005 was estimated at $US2.7 billion ($3.61 billion), similar to last year's $US2.8 billion ($3.74 billion) and equivalent to 52 per cent of Afghanistan legal gross domestic product.
Income from the crop was "vital" to the farmers, the report said. Per hectare income from opium was estimated at $US5400 ($7214) this year compared with about $US550 ($A735) for wheat.
The stark difference in the income has in part been blamed for a lack of enthusiasm among farmers for a government push for them to drop opium in favour of other crops.
The UN and government survey was based on satellite images and field visits, including interviews with 5700 farmers.
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