LAGHMAN CITY (SW) – Farmers in several districts and remote areas of Laghman, Afghanistan’s eastern province, say that due to the dire economic situation, they have been forced to covertly plant hundreds of acres of their agricultural lands with poppies to meet their and their families’ needs.
However, after the re-establishment of the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan, poppy planting and drug production in Afghanistan have been banned.
Ahmad, a farmer, says that he can earn a better income by planting poppies, “it has a good income and on the other hand, it needs little water. This year is a drought and there is not much water for irrigation; that’s why we plant poppies.”
Farmers in Laghman province say that alternative planting cannot bring them enough income to meet life’s needs.
Taj Mohammad, another farmer, also states, “People are poor and there is not any job or way to go abroad. Other cultivations do not bring income; we know that poppy cultivation is illegal but we have no choice.”
On the other hand, officials from the Laghman Security Command say that poppy cultivation and drug production are prohibited and they have launched a campaign to eliminate the hidden poppy cultivation in this province.
Edris, the Director of Anti-Narcotics of Laghman Security Command, says that if people plant poppies in their lands, they will be dealt with legally and their lands will be destroyed.
“The campaign against poppy planting continues in Alinegar and Alishing districts. So far, we have destroyed more than 41 acres of land where poppy was planted, and hundreds of other acres of land have been destroyed by the people themselves,” he added.
Ewaz Khan Shirzad, an agricultural expert, argues that the ban on poppy planting is a good measure, but according to him, farmers must be informed of and provided with alternative plantings, especially in the field of finding a suitable market for their products.
Earlier, officials from the Anti-Narcotics Department of the Ministry of Interior stated that in the last two years, more than 15,300 hectares of agricultural lands had been cleared of poppy cultivation.
