Poppies eradicated on 1500 acres of Nangarhar’s land

JALALABAD (Pajhwok): Police have destroyed poppy, hashish and other similar illicit plants on 1500 acres of land in eastern Nangarhar province during an ongoing campaign, an official said on Wednesday.

The cultivation of poppy and other similar crops has been brought to zero in 14 districts of Nangarhar as part of the poppy eradication campaign launched a month ago.

Nangarhar police spokesman Abdul Baseer Zabuli told Pajhwok Afghan News on Wednesday that  poppy, cannabis and other similar plants grown on 1500 acres of land in different districts were destroyed during the past one week.

He said the plantation of such crops was prohibited as per principles of the Islamic Emirate. He said the supreme leader issued a decree three months ago, banning cultivation, smuggling and use of narcotics in all of Afghanistan.

“For two months, we provided awareness to farmers in all districts that they should not grow narcotics, but still some people violated the decree and their crops were eradicated.”

However, farmers said they were forced to cultivate poppy and cannabis crops due to the lack of improved quality seeds, high prices of chemical fertilizers and their lack of access to foreign markets.

Naqibullah, whose poppy crop was destroyed in Arghach village of Khogyani district, said the government should provide farmers with alternative source of income.

Officials say farmers are being supported and helped to plant other lucrative crops instead of poppy through the Department of Agriculture.

ma