KANDAHAR CITY (Pajhwok): Poppy cultivation in southern Kandahar province has increased by 75 percent this year, compared to the previous year, an official and growers said on Thursday.
On the other hand, the price of opium has also gone up. A few months ago, the price of one kilogram of opium was 3,000 afghanis, but now it has risen to 7,000 and 10,000 afghanis.
People say that since the Taliban came to power, farmers have turned to poppy cultivation on a large scale because they think the crop might be banned in the future.
Noor Mohammad, a farmer in Panjwai district who has grown poppy on his land, told Pajhwok Afghan News that more poppies have been planted this year than any other year.
He added that during the previous government, although poppy cultivation and smuggling were banned, it was cultivated in remote areas, which would later be eradicated by the government in a series of campaigns.
He says that now that the Taliban have come to power, poppy is widely grown in Kandahar, Helmand and other southern provinces because farmers think the Taliban may later ban poppy cultivation and trafficking.
"About two weeks have passed since poppy cultivation, and so far the Taliban have not said anything about whether or not to cultivate poppy," he said.
He added that farmers could not afford to pay for other crops because there was no water and the price of chemical fertilizers had gone up.
Another farmer, Sharafuddin, said that the rising price of poppy had encouraged farmers to grow the plant.
He says there is no alternative to poppy this year, as the government in the past would provide farmers with improved seeds, fertilizers and other agricultural inputs so that they do not have to grow poppies.
He also said that the sale and purchase of opium is now open but in the past it was kept secret out of fear of the government.
Ali Ahmad, an opium smuggler, told Pajhwok Afghan News the price of poppy had tripled. He added that a few months ago, the price of a kilogram of poppy was around 3,000 afghanis, but now a kilogram of poppy was sold for 7000 to 10,000 afghanis.
He also said that the sale and purchase of opium poppy in the southern provinces was done openly now and there was no ban on its movement from one place to another.
Abdul Ghafoor, director of alternative livelihoods at the Kandahar Department of Agriculture and Livestock, said poppy cultivation had increased in the province and other southern provinces.
He told Pajhwok Afghan News that in previous years, poppy cultivation in Kandahar was very low, but this year the figure has risen to an estimated 75 percent.
He says there is a shortage of water and no assistance has been provided to farmers, so people have grown more poppy.
Poppy is harvested six months after the start of cultivation, but recently even four crops have been planted and harvested.
However, the United Nations has said that political instability in Afghanistan has pushed up the price of opium poppy.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) says the price of opium poppy in Afghanistan has more than doubled and is estimated to be between $1.7 billion and $2.7 billion this year.
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