strategies to counter opiate in Afghanistan - Groupe URD

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Almost ten years after the international
community’s military intervention and
the fall of the Taliban regime, the
question of the production of opium in
Afghanistan is, more than ever, of central
concern to actors and the international
community in particular. During the past
decade, there has been a succession of
policies and programmes aiming to
reduce drug production either through
eradication, repression or via the
implementation of alternative
agricultural or rural development
activities. What results have these
produced What lessons can be drawn
from them
In order to answer these questions, this
study analyses the different activities
which have been implemented in the last
decade as part of the National Drug
Control Strategy (NDCS) – by
highlighting their strengths and
weaknesses and the constraints involved
in implementing them – and makes some
strategic and operational
recommendations to contribute to the
debate about policies and programmes.
Due to the scale of the subject (the wide
variety of activities and large number of
actors with very different approaches),
the decision was made to analyse in
detail a selection of development
programmes directly or indirectly
related to the fight against opiates, and to
give only a general overview of the
achievements and key issues of the other
pillars of the NDCS.
The study is based on detailed analysis of
existing literature and on interviews with
representatives of Afghan ministries,
international governments, United
Nations agencies and researchers who
work on counter-narcotics activities.
Opium in Afghanistan
Opium production was marginal in
Afghanistan before the Soviet invasion. It
began to increase in the context of the
war economy and as a coping strategy in
the 1990s before becoming a main cash
crop, with a considerable increase in the
area cultivated since 2001. Production
has fallen since the record levels of 2007,
but it still remains very high: 6 900
tonnes were harvested in 2009, for a
cultivated area of 123 000 ha. A
noticeable change took place in the
location of opium cultivation between
2004, when production was generalised
across the country, and 2009, when
production became concentrated in
southern provinces and in the western
province of Badghis. Certain provinces
have obtained “poppy-free” status for a
number of years, whether consecutive or
not. This is awarded by UNODC to
provinces which have less than 100 ha of
poppies. In parallel to the increasing area
cultivated, there has been an enormous
boom in the entire opiate industry in the
last decade. 60% of the drugs produced
in Afghanistan – morphine and heroin –
are currently made in laboratories in the
main provinces where poppies are
grown (Helmand, Nangarhar and
Badakhshan).
Strategies to counter opiate production in Afghanistan
Groupe URD | Juin 2010
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