2/4/2004
UN Appeal For Funds To Deter Poppy Growing

Production of the opium poppy is booming again in Afghanistan after being practically extinguished under the former Taliban regime. The UN' Food and Agriculture Organisation has appealed for $60 million to help stimulate Afghanistan's rural economy, but has admitted it may take more than a decade to set up sustainable alternative opportunities to the profitable poppy.

The UN estimate that some 85 per cent of Afghans derive their livelihood from agriculture. Years of war, poor weather and instability have left many Afghan farmers desperately poor. Afghanistan could become an exporter of such products as nuts and raisins, say FAO but the country needs investment in agricultural infrastructure. Near the southern city of Kandahar, for example, years of drought have silted up the main reservoir, reducing water availability for farmers and impoverishing the once fertile local orchards.