The drought currently afflicting Afghanistan
is driving down the country's opium production, according to a new report
by the United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) issued
today.
Whild confirming that Afghanistan remains
the largest producer of opium poppy in the world, UNDCP's Annual Opium
Poppy Survey 2000 reports that this year, the country produced about 3,275
metric tonnes of fresh opium - a substantial reduction from 4,581 metric
tonnes in 1999. During 2000, there were 82,172 hectares of opium poppy
under cultivation, or nearly 10 per cent less than the 1999 estimate of
90,983 hectares.
"The reduction in both production and area under cultivation was due largely -- by far -- to the very severe drought that struck southern Afghanistan during the year," ODCCP Executive Director Pino Arlacchi told a press conference in New York.
The UN agency did register some gains thanks to its support for anti-drug efforts in Afghanistan. Three districts in the Kandahar province, where the UN is implementing an alternative development pilot project, recorded a decrease of about 50 per cent in the opium harvest this year. The report cited this as evidence that "alternative development programmes, coupled with commitment by authorities to eliminate cultivation of illicit crops, can have a significant impact on poppy reduction."
Mr. Arlacchi praised a new regional action plan to combat Afghan opium trafficking that was adopted yesterday, but added that it could not substitute for long-term solutions. "We know very well this is not the ideal strategy," he said. "The long-term solution is alternative development and [the] elimination of narcotic crops inside Afghanistan."
Asked about drug cultivation in Latin America, Mr. Arlacchi said there had been a "continuing positive trend" in the decline of coca production in Bolivia, which had slashed its cultivation by 80 to 90 per cent in the last three years. There had also been a reduction in Peru, which had cut the area under coca cultivation by almost 70 per cent in the last four years. He urged support for all countries of the region, particularly Colombia, in their efforts to combat cocaine production at the source.
At the same time, Mr. Arlacchi told journalists that in the last five years, seizures of cocaine had increased dramatically, to the point where almost half of all cocaine headed for the streets was now confiscated by law enforcement authorities.