strategies to counter opiate in Afghanistan - Groupe URD

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political stability is a pre-requisite for sustainable socio-economic development and, consequently, for a reduction in opium production. One of the reasons why actors focus on opium production rather than on its fundamental causes is due to the use of UNODC data on opium cultivation and opium production as the main (if not only) indicator of progress. And yet this data does not give any indication of the sustainability of changes observed or improvements in the living conditions of Afghans. It would be much more appropriate to measure progress made using indicators based on the socio-economic situation (including health) and the security and political situation (governance, corruption) 59 . This would allow the efforts of the international community to be refocused on improving the living conditions of the Afghans, which is a social, economic and political issue. 7.2 Operational recommendations for socioeconomic development programmes 1. In order to improve the effectiveness and impact of development programmes implemented in connection with the fight against opiates, there needs to be recognition that their success depends on investment over time. Projects with a rapid impact create political incentive, but they need to be accompanied by operations which are planned with a ten or twenty-year perspective. 2. The planning and implementation of operations needs to be flexible in order to respond to the needs of different population groups and adapt to different situations which evolve over time. 3. The appropriateness of operations will depend on how well factors influencing opium poppy cultivation at the local level are analysed and how well they integrate different components – economic development, security, governance – as part of strategies which are adapted to the local context. 4. The fight against opiates should be led alongside harmonious economic development throughout the country to avoid problems simply moving from one area to another. It is therefore important to contribute (financially and technically) to national development programmes in different key sectors, such as agriculture, rural development, job creation and industrial development. The earmarking of aid by donors should either be avoided as it creates difficulties for the government to adopt harmonised national strategies or it should be managed as part of a national development plan. 5. Providing support to rural development and agricultural programmes implemented by NGOs – particularly by partners of the National Solidarity Programme (NSP) - remains pertinent. The use of integrated approaches by certain NGOs (AKDN, AfghanAid, Solidarités) makes it possible to compensate for the major weaknesses which continue to exist in local public services and to create links between the different sectors (governance, rural development, agriculture, education, health). It is therefore important to establish links between these cross-sector programmes and the 78
government’s sector-based development programmes particularly as long as local authorities have no inter-department collaboration mechanisms. Furthermore, given the security problems which limit the government’s access to certain parts of the country and the problems of corruption within the government, it is possible that NGOs – particularly Afghan NGOs – will play an increasingly predominant role in the implementation of development programmes. If the conflict continues to deteriorate, NGOs may once again take up a humanitarian role similar to the role they have played in previous phases of the conflict (in the 1980s and 1990s). Certain NGOs are trying to establish links with the opposition to negotiate access to the population. 6. It is important to continue to diversify and develop agricultural sectors, while taking care with the following points: the choice of products, by asking who will benefit from them (big land owners small farmers) and if they will allow jobs to be created for households without productive resources the quality of market studies with reliable estimates of the competitivity of Afghan products the risk of creating artificial markets and dependence (on suppliers or clients paid with international aid, for example) the need to implement, as early as possible, processes which allow the different actors involved in a sector to gain autonomy (particularly via training in quality control, marketing, management, etc.) the need to establish a sustainable system for the supply of quality inputs (for example, by avoiding free distribution) The successful development of a sector depends not only on the choice of the product but also the development strategy adopted. Actors who support the development of a sector must make sure that it has every chance of success because failure could increase the vulnerability of farmers. Partnerships between development and private sector organisations from the earliest stages are a way of measuring and sharing risk more effectively. 7. The development of new products on a large scale can not only be based on investment in the production tool. Investment in other infrastructure such as processing and packaging factories and electric plants, for example, is necessary, though very little has taken place to date. It is therefore important to identify the main bottlenecks which are holding up the development of food industry products and other potential industrial activities, and to support initiatives which aim to overcome these. Many Afghan entrepreneurs are interested in this kind of investment, but often need some help with initial capital, guarantees on their investment and technical support. 8. Financial and technical support should be provided to develop rural and agricultural credit mechanisms and products. Different products need to be made accessible to households, smallholders, small and medium-sized businesses and also big investors. The development of these systems needs to take into account the absorption and 59 See Counter-Narcotics In Afghanistan: the Failure of Success (December 2008) Strategies to counter opiate production in Afghanistan Groupe URD | Juin 2010 79
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STRATEGIES TO COUNTER OPIATE PRODUC
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CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 7 1. INT
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ACRONYMS ADP Alternative Developmen
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Almost ten years
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have had a long-term impact on opiu
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poppy cultivation in a sustainable
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11. It is important to improve the
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2. Object, methodology and limits o
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3. Opium in Afghanistan 3.1 The hug
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Figure 3. Distribution of opium cul
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governor and they had been impoveri
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hand, the decision not to cultivate
Page 27 and 28: • The production of opium in othe
Page 29 and 30: Table 1. Factors which influence th
Page 31 and 32: Table 2 presents the four prioritie
Page 33 and 34: 4. Opium poppies and development De
Page 35 and 36: 4.1.1 Poor competitivity of alterna
Page 37 and 38: Profit margin per hectare Ease of s
Page 39 and 40: 4.1.2 Difficulties in establishing
Page 41 and 42: Box 2. “Roses for Nangarhar” an
Page 43 and 44: Table 5. Principal characteristics
Page 45 and 46: It is also important to note that m
Page 47 and 48: eing given to agricultural programm
Page 49 and 50: implementation and involving both t
Page 51 and 52: Development Bank because it was too
Page 53 and 54: The creation of jobs in non-produci
Page 55 and 56: As very little progress has been ma
Page 57 and 58: Box 3. An attempt to analyse the re
Page 59: full use. Though the question of la
Page 62 and 63: Eradication was the subject of deba
Page 64 and 65: 5.2 Interdiction and repression 5.2
Page 66 and 67: 5.2.3 Criminal Justice The objectiv
Page 68 and 69: However, these operations often hav
Page 70 and 71: Box 5. The Harm reduction program f
Page 72 and 73: Helmand, which was developed by the
Page 75: 6. Conclusion Considerable effort h
Page 80 and 81: deployment capacity of existing cre
Page 82 and 83: COUNTER-NARCOTICS TRUST FUND (CNTF)
Page 84 and 85: MANSFIELD, D. Water management, liv
Page 86 and 87: KARZAI, H. Stabilizing Afghanistan:
Page 88 and 89: Annex 3: Opium poppy cultivation in
Page 90 and 91: Opium poppy has been cultivated in
Page 92 and 93: Annex 4: Typology of opium-producin
Page 96: Groupe URD La Fontaine des Marins 2
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