Opium makes a comeback
Just as international forces prepare to withdraw from Afghanistan at the end of 2014, the country is witnessing a surge in the production of opium. 2013 was a record year for the narcotic - and there may be a connection.
The global leader
No other country in the world produces more opium than Afghanistan. In 2013, poppy flowers - from which opium is extracted - were grown on some 209,000 hectares of land (522,000 acres). Heroin is also a drug produced from opium. Nearly 90 percent of these narcotics originate in Afghanistan.
Larger fields, bigger harvest
In November, 2013, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) published its annual report. The document came to the disturbing conclusion that the production of opium in Afghanistan, compared to the previous year, had increased by nearly 50 percent to 5,500 tons.
Connection to troop withdrawal?
The United Nations suspects that there is a connection between the surge in opium production and the withdrawal of international forces. It is possible that opium farmers have increased their production to prepare for politically and economically unstable times. Most observers expect the Afghan economy to suffer when international troops leave at the end of 2014.
Billion dollar industry
The UN drug office estimates the value of last year's opium crop in Afghanistan at around 950 million USD (703 million euros). That is equivalent to approximately four percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The allure of money
The temptation for Afghan farmers to plant poppies is great. A kilogram (2.2 lbs) can be sold in Afghanistan for about 150 dollars (110 euros), making the crop an attractive investment. Even though opium is illegal, efforts by agriculture experts to get farmers to grow other crops, such as cotton, have been unsuccessful because the farmers don't earn enough and the crops are difficult to sell.
Helmand - A problem province
According to the UN drug report, nearly half of the opium harvested in 2013 was grown in the southern province of Helmand, an area that is a stronghold of the Taliban. The provincial government has tried to combat the problem with a campaign to destroy fields, irrigation ditches and wells.
Futile fight?
In its anti-drug fight, Afghanistan also gets support from the United States. In the spring of 2013, the two sides signed an agreement worth 250 million dollars for upgrading Afghanistan's judiciary and the police force with a special focus on efforts to eradicate the poppy crop. But, according to the Afghan government, some 200,000 households depend on opium for their livelihood.
Drug trade benefits the Taliban
Radical Islamists profit handsomely from the drug trade in Afghanistan. Farmers generally have to pay a fee to the Taliban, who use the money to finance their insurgency against the Kabul government and international forces. Ironically, before the fall of the Taliban in 2001, growing poppies was strictly forbidden.
Drug-dependent children
Widespread production - widespread addiction: Drugs are not only grown in Afghanistan; there are also many locals who consume them. The United Nations estimates there are some 1.5 million drug addicts in the country, including some 300,000 children.