Paris, France.
Afghanistan is the world’s largest producer of heroin, With between 80% and 90% of the planet’s production, so the anti-drug policy of the new Taliban regime will be of crucial importance.
The price of heroin, Addiction levels as well as the violence and drug-related smuggling will be influenced by Taliban policy in a country where opium production is one of its industries.
International efforts over the past 20 years to eradicate poppy cultivation, from which sap is obtained for the production of morphine and heroin, have failed miserably, and the cultivated area is now about four times larger than in 2002.
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Anja Korenblik works at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which publishes the annual study on opium in Afghanistan, based on satellite images and interviews with farmers in 1,500 villages .
This researcher explained to AFP what is at stake and the difficulties in combating heroin trafficking.
– Why do Afghan farmers grow poppies? –
“For farmers who do not have access to alternative livelihoods, poppy cultivation is a good option as it offers several advantages. With a little land you can grow poppies and get a relatively good income.
Other crops are difficult to market. With the poppy, they can easily sell opium at the door of their farms. Traders come to them. And even though its cultivation is illegal, the law does not apply. “
– Which countries consume Afghan heroin? –
“Afghanistan supplies more or less everyone except the Americas, which is supplied in Mexico, and there are also some crops in Colombia.
The main markets are in Western Europe, but Afghanistan also supplies to a lesser extent the Asian and African markets. “
– How did the Taliban benefit from heroin? –
“Their income came from opium taxes. In many villages, farmers had to pay taxes for the sale of opium of about 6%. Depending on the hectares cultivated, this meant between 15 and 30 million. of dollars a year.
But in addition, if an area is controlled, opiate manufacturing and trafficking can also be taxed, and assuming this is similarly serious, annual revenues can amount to $ 100 million or more. ”
– The Taliban banned the cultivation of rubble in 2000. What happened? –
“Opium cultivation fell from 82,000 hectares in 2000 to 8,000 hectares in 2001, and those 8,000 hectares were in the northern region, which at the time was not under Taliban control.
It had a huge impact on opium prices, which rose from $ 30 per kilo to a maximum of $ 700 per kilo.
However, the problem was not resolved because the real causes of all this illicit opium economy were not addressed. “
– How important is opium to the Afghan agricultural industry? –
“Most farmers are very poor. They are under pressure because in 2018 there was a drought, in 2019 there were floods and then the covid. Food prices have gone up.
Their lives have not improved. Infrastructures have not improved or very little. If they can’t grow opium, there will have to be another solution for people to have jobs, income and food.
People often think that cultivating illicit drugs makes everyone rich. This is not at all the case. Yes it makes some very rich, but a lot of people don’t take advantage. For them, it’s just the only way to survive decently. “