United Nations Report: Afghan Opium Cultivation Is Down 20 Percent Due To Drought

VOA: UN: Afghan Opium Cultivation Down 20 Percent

ISLAMABAD — A new United Nations survey finds that opium cultivation in Afghanistan has decreased by 20 percent in 2018 compared to the previous year, citing a severe drought and falling prices of dry opium at the national level.

The total opium-poppy cultivation area decreased to 263,000 hectares, from 328,000 hectares estimated in 2017, but it was
still the second highest measurement for Afghanistan since the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) began monitoring in 1994.

The potential opium production decreased by 29 percent to 6,400 tons from an estimated 9,000 tons in 2017.

Read more ....

Update #1: Afghan opium producers hit hard by drought in 2018 (AFP)
Update #2: UN Survey Reveals Sharp Drop in Poppy Cultivation (TOLO News)

WNU Editor: Opium cultivation may be down, but it is still the second highest total since records were kept. The UN report is here .... Afghanistan Opium Survey 2018 (UNODC)

Report: U.S. Anti-Narcotic Effort In Afghanistan Is A Costly Failure

The Guardian: US anti-narcotic effort in Afghanistan is a costly failure, official report finds

* Opium production hits record high in 2017
* US has spent $8.6bn to curb production since 2001

Poppy cultivation in Afghanistan hit a record high last year, a US government watchdog has said, describing American-funded counternarcotics efforts in the war-torn country as a failure.

Since the American-led invasion in late 2001, the US has spent about $8.6bn on counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan, yet the country remains the world’s largest producer of opium.

According to a new study by the office of the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction (Sigar), opium cultivation reached about 328,000 hectares (1,265 square miles) in 2017 – a 63% jump from the year before and the greatest amount tallied since 2002.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Here is a good analysis from earlier this year .... How the heroin trade explains the US-UK failure in Afghanistan (The Guardian).

Opium Production In Afghanistan Reaches Record High

WNU editor: When the war in Afghanistan ends one day .... and it will end one day. The number one social/medical crisis that Afghanistan will need to face is the problem of opium production and addiction.

Afghan Leaders Criticize U.S. Airstrikes On Taliban Drug Labs

Washington Post: Afghan leaders in Helmand criticize U.S. airstrikes on Taliban drug labs

KABUL — A newly announced campaign of U.S. and Afghan airstrikes against Taliban-run narcotic centers was met with alarm and criticism Tuesday from political leaders in Helmand province — the heart of Afghanistan’s huge opium trade — where officials said 10 such air attacks were carried out in the past week.

Some legislators and provincial representatives expressed worries that civilians could be harmed. Others dismissed the campaign, announced by U.S. military officials Monday, as a dramatic but misplaced effort to showcase Washington’s determination to go after insurgent bastions and criminal activities as part of its new military strategy.

Read more ....

Previous Post: U.S. Launches Airstrikes Targeting The Taliban's Opium Production Facilities In Afghanistan (November 21, 2017)

WNU Editor: Instead of going into the fields and cutting the crop .... just target the locations where the drug is made and stored. My sense is that these strikes were effective .... and some are not happy.

U.S. Launches Airstrikes Targeting The Taliban's Opium Production Facilities In Afghanistan

VOA: US Launches Airstrikes in First Operation Targeting Afghan Opium

ISLAMABAD — The United States has launched its first counter-narcotics military offensive in partnership with local allies in Afghanistan to try to deprive the resurgent Taliban of its largest source of funding. The move follows years of criticism that international forces are not doing enough to curb the opium trade.

Speaking in Kabul Monday, General John Nicholson, commander of U.S. troops and NATO’s Resolute Support military mission, shared details of the coalition's first overnight counter-narcotics airstrikes.

He said the bombing campaign destroyed major Taliban narcotics production facilities in Helmand, the main poppy producing southern Afghan province, depriving the insurgent group of major revenues.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The Islamic State had oil refineries to finance its wars .... until U.S.air strikes changed that. And now the Taliban ... with their opium production facilities financing its war .... are being targeted by U.S. air strikes. Hmmm .... I see a pattern here.

Update: U.S. on track to triple bombs dropped on Afghanistan against Taliban (NBC).

More News On The U.S. Launching Airstrikes Targeting The Taliban's Opium Production Facilities In Afghanistan

U.S., Afghan forces strike opium factories to curb Taliban funds -- Reuters
US hits Taliban drug labs in Afghanistan under new strategy -- ABC News/AP
US hits 'Taliban where it hurts' by striking drug labs -- AFP
US Airstrikes in Afghanistan Take Aim at Taliban Opium Labs -- New York Times
US, Afghan aircraft target Taliban's poppy facilities -- UPI
Drug Labs Used By The Taliban In Afghanistan Are Now A US Target After Trump Authorizes Strikes -- Newsweek
U.S. Strikes Taliban Drug Facilities in Strategy Shift to Target Revenue Sources -- Washington Free Beacon
Strikes on Taliban opium facilities first major use of new bombing authorities in Afghanistan -- Stars and Stripes
US, Afghan Forces Target Taliban Drug Labs, Hit 'Where it Hurts' -- Department of Defense

Afghanistan's Opium Crop Hits A New Record Level. Up 87% This Year

Opium poppy field in Afghanistan. Photo: IRIN

UN News Centre: Afghanistan opium production jumps 87 per cent to record level – UN survey

A profoundly alarming trend in the cultivation and production of opium in Afghanistan reveals an 87 per cent production increase compared to 2016, the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) said Wednesday in its Afghanistan Opium Survey 2017.

“It is high time for the international community and Afghanistan to reprioritize drug control, and to acknowledge that every nation has a shared responsibility for this global problem,” said UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov.

According to the latest figures released by the Afghan Ministry of Counter Narcotics and UNODC, in addition to an 87 per cent jump to a record level of 9,000 metric tonnes in 2017, the area under opium poppy cultivation also increased to a record 328,000 hectares in 2017, up 63 per cent compared with 201,000 hectares in 2016.

Read more ....

More News On Afghanistan's Opium Crop Hitting A New Record Level Of Production

Afghanistan's opium production hits record high in 2017, UN says -- Reuters
Afghanistan opium crop hits new record level -- The Telegraph
A record opium boom is America's latest epic failure in Afghanistan -- VICE News
Afghan opium production at record high despite British troops dying to stamp it out -- RT

Another Record Opium Crop In Afghanistan

An Afghan policeman destroys poppies during a campaign against narcotics in Kunar province, April 29, 2014. Parwiz Parwiz/REUTERS

Business Insider: Heroin is driving a sinister trend in Afghanistan

* Afghanistan looks set for another year of record opium production in 2017, maintaining its role as the world's biggest producer.
* As opium production has grown, the Taliban has assumed a bigger role in it, deriving much of its income from the drug trade.
* As the Taliban relies more and more on drugs, many of its fighters are less likely to accept reconciliation with the US-backed government.

Afghanistan has long been one of the world's biggest producers of opium, which is used to make heroin, and the Taliban has made a lucrative business from taxing and providing security to producers and smugglers in the region.

But the militant group has expanded its role in that drug trade considerably, boosting its profits at a time when it is making decisive gains against the Afghan government and its US backers.

According to a New York Times report, the Taliban has gotten involved in every stage of the drug business. Afghan police and their US advisers find heroin-refining labs with increasingly frequency, but the labs are easy to replace.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: There are many factors on why Afghanistan is consumed by conflict. But if it was not for the drugs, the war in Afghanistan would probably be a lot more smaller (if not gone) than what it is today.

Opium Production Continues To Boom In Afghanistan

Afghan men work on a poppy field in Jalalabad province. © Parwiz / Reuters

RT: ‘World fails miserably to stop opium threat’: RT reports from drug factory Afghanistan

Opiate production in Afghanistan has increased markedly since the US-led invasion in 2001, leading addiction rates to skyrocket. Meanwhile, the UN said this week that opioids are the world’s “most harmful drug type.” RT investigated the problem in Kabul.

Though only a tiny fraction of the opiates produced in Afghanistan are used domestically, the effects are devastating the local population. An RT crew found an infamous nest of drug addicts in a dry riverbed right in the middle of the Afghan capital, Kabul.

Read more ....

WNU editor: This The biggest victims to this explosion of opium production are becoming the Afghans themselves .... Opium use booms in Afghanistan, creating a ‘silent tsunami’ of addicted women (Washington Post).

A Bumper Crop For Opium In Afghanistan

BBC: Afghanistan opium production up 43% - UN drugs watchdog

Opium production in Afghanistan has increased by 43% in the past year, United Nations officials have said.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said the area used to farm the poppy plant, the source of opium, increased by 10% to 201,000 hectares.

But better farming conditions resulted in a higher yield per hectare, increasing overall production.

Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of the substance, which is the main ingredient in heroin.

Growing opium is a crime in the country, but it is still a major cash crop for impoverished farming communities.

The Taliban also taxes poppy production in areas it controls, which is a major source of income for its military activities.

UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov said the figures were "a worrying reversal in efforts".

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The UN report is here .... Afghan opium production up 43 per cent: Survey (UNODC).

More News On Afghanistan's Opium Crop

Opium crops spread in Afghanistan as Taliban gains ground, U.N. says -- Reuters
Report Shows Increase in Afghanistan Opium Poppy Cultivation -- AP
Afghanistan's opium production soaring, says UN -- AFP
UN: Opium production skyrockets in Afghanistan -- CNN
Afghan opium production up nearly half, UN says --DW
Afghanistan’s Opium Cultivation Jumps 10 Percent In 2016 -- RFE
Opium production up in Afghanistan, eradication down -- UPI
Afghan opium production increases due to bumper harvests -- IBTimes
Afghan opium production up 43 percent in 1 year as eradication effort fails – UN -- RT
Rising opium production in Afghanistan boosting Taliban insurgency, South Asia expert warns -- ABC News Online

A Banner Year For Opium Growers In Afghanistan

IBDLive/BDLive: Afghan opium farmers celebrate bumper poppy harvest

NAQIL — Lashes swished and whirled through the air in a burst of celebration around a sea of opium poppies, as farmers in a southern Afghan village rejoiced over a bumper harvest with a traditional rope game.

Hundreds of farm labourers from across the Pashtun heartland, many of them Taliban, congregated last month in Naqil in Uruzgan province for the most lucrative time of the year — the poppy harvest.

After labouring all day in the torpid heat, extracting milky opium resin from swollen green pods, they broke into revelry around the bountiful farms.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: A depressing read.

Afghan Taliban Are Prospering From A Bountiful Opium Harvest This Year

Afghan farmers work at a poppy field in Jalalabad province, May 5, 2012.

New York Times: Bountiful Afghan Opium Harvest Yields Profits for the Taliban

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — It is spring that determines how a year turns out, according to an Afghan proverb. And if the Helmand poppy fields this spring are any indication, the Taliban will have a very good year.

As the opium harvest winds down across Helmand Province, Afghanistan’s largest in territory and poppy cultivation, farmers and officials are reporting high yields. The skies were generous with heavy rainfall, and the Afghan government with its cancellation of annual eradication campaigns. It had lost much of the territory in Helmand to the Taliban anyway.

So it was with peace of mind that farmers, and thousands of seasonal laborers who had traveled to Helmand, scraped the gum from the opium bulbs. Taliban fighters were just around the corner to lend a hand — and to receive their share of wages and taxes, in cash or kind. The crowded fields amounted to an insurgent recruiter’s dream.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: But while the U.S. and the Afghan forces have failed in eradicating the opium crop, opium growers and the Taliban are now facing a deadlier and more determined foe .... ISIS loyalists targeting opium and heroin production in Afghanistan: Report (Khaama Press). More here .... Islamic State Eradicating Afghan Poppy Crops (VOA).

A Look At How Opium Defeated America In Afghanistan

Afghan farmers harvested poppies last spring in the Nad Ali district of Helmand Province. Credit Bryan Denton for The New York Times

Alfred W. McCoy, Salon/Tom Dispatch: How opium defeated America in Afghanistan

A pink flower has stopped the world's largest military juggernaut in its tracks

After fighting the longest war in its history, the United States stands at the brink of defeat in Afghanistan. How can this be possible? How could the world’s sole superpower have battled continuously for 15 years, deploying 100,000 of its finest troops, sacrificing the lives of 2,200 of those soldiers, spending more than a trillion dollars on its military operations, lavishing a record hundred billion more on “nation-building” and “reconstruction,” helping raise, fund, equip, and train an army of 350,000 Afghan allies, and still not be able to pacify one of the world’s most impoverished nations? So dismal is the prospect for stability in Afghanistan in 2016 that the Obama White House has recently cancelled a planned further withdrawal of its forces and will leave an estimated 10,000 troops in the country indefinitely.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The Taliban .... like all armies .... need money. Opium has bankrolled this insurgency. Here is another fascinating post on the Afghan opium trade and its ties to the Taliban .... Penetrating Every Stage of Afghan Opium Chain, Taliban Become a Cartel (NYT).

Why The Afghan Opium Trade Is Not Going To Be Stopped

Afghan farmers harvested poppies last spring in the Nad Ali district of Helmand Province. Credit Bryan Denton for The New York Times

New York Times: Tasked With Combating Opium, Afghan Officials Depend on It

GARMSIR, Afghanistan — The United States spent more than $7 billion in the past 14 years to fight the runaway poppy production that has made Afghan opium the world’s biggest brand. Tens of billions more went to governance programs to stem corruption and train a credible police force. Countless more dollars and thousands of lives were lost on the main thrust of the war: to put the Afghan government in charge of district centers and to instill rule of law.

But here in one of the only corners of Helmand Province that is peaceful and in firm government control, the green stalks and swollen bulbs of opium were growing thick and high within eyeshot of official buildings during the past poppy season — signs of a local narco-state administered directly by government officials.

In the district of Garmsir, not only is poppy cultivation tolerated, the local government depends on it. Officials have imposed a tax on farmers practically identical to the one the Taliban uses in places they control. Some of the revenue is kicked up the chain, all the way to officials in Kabul, the capital, ensuring that the local authorities maintain support from higher-ups and keeping the opium growing. And Garmsir is just one example of official involvement in the drug trade.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Bottom line .... even though 10% of the Afghan population is dependent on opium .... with all of the health/social problems associated with it .... too many people are dependent on it for their livelihood to stop it.

Russia Television Takes A Look At Afghanistan's Opium Trade

From RT: Afghanistan is the world’s biggest exporter of black-market opium from which heroin is made. It’s a multi-billion dollar business, responsible for around a hundred thousand deaths every year and it’s a major source of income for terrorists. RT Doc travelled to the poppy fields where death is harvested to find out why no one can put a stop to this deadly trade.

WNU Editor: Aside from the story on Afghanistan's opium trade, what I liked about this video are the many shots of the countryside, the roads, the people .... Afghanistan has definitely changed in the past 14 years.

Afghanistan's Opium Production Is Down 48% This Year

VOA: UN: Afghan Opium Production Down 48%

ISLAMABAD — The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported Wednesday that the amount of opium produced in Afghanistan during the current year dropped by 48 percent.

"We have 3,300 tons of opium production this year as compared to 6,400 tons last year," UNODC regional representative Andrey Avetisyan,told reporters in Kabul.

The UNODC attributed the dramatic drop to better cooperation between enforcement agencies and Afghan policy makers. The low production can also be attributed to a reduction in area under cultivation, but more importantly to a drop in opium yield per hectare, according the findings of the survey.

Update: Survey Shows Decrease in Afghanistan Opium Poppy Cultivation -- AP

WNU Editor: The above BBC report claims there are one million addicts in Afghanistan, but I have read that the number is actually closer to two million. Either way .... this is a crisis that is under-reported in the West, and it is a scourge that I am sure that many are hoping will be eliminated one day.

A Bumper Year For Afghanistan's Opium Crop

Reuters

The Independent: The deadly blooms of Helmand: Afghan farmers turn to the opium crop, despite the police's best efforts

The income from opium can beat that from conventional crops twelve-fold, and comes with protection courtesy of the Taliban

Ghulam Hassan is in the mood to celebrate Eid, the biggest religious festival of the Afghan year, three months early. His 1.5-acre farm in a small village in Helmand province has been blooming with white and crimson flowers. Now the petals are just beginning to drop, giving way to round, sticky, pungent green pods. In a few more days the pods will swell to the size of a bulb. This is when Mr Hassan’s family of 14 will move in. They will carefully slice open the bulbs and collect the oozing white latex or resin – the main ingredient in heroin.

“This is a bumper crop. The yield will be enough to feed my family for more than a year,” Mr Hassan said, gazing gleefully at his poppy field just outside the village of Hajj Alam in the Nehri Saraj district.

Update #1: Afghan poppy farmers say new seeds will boost opium output -- AP
Update #2: Menacing Afghan Opium Increases, Amid Taliban Strength, Revealed in Special Inspector General Report -- Forbes

WNU Editor: It looks like the Islamic State now wants a part of the action .... ISIS wants access to Afghanistan’s opium and drugs, says Atmar (Khaama Press).

Afghanistan's Growing Heroin Addiction Epidemic

People observed from the Pul-i-Sokhta bridge in Kabul as men used heroin below. Afghanistan has one of the world’s highest rates of opiate use. Credit Bryan Denton for The New York Times

Kabul Residents Watch As Heroin Addiction Grows -- New York Times

KABUL, Afghanistan — Each afternoon, spectators line a bridge in west Kabul and gaze down. They have not come to stare at the Kabul River — a dismal trickle of muddy runoff this time of year — but at the figures huddled on its garbage-strewn banks.

Some of the men below rock back and forth, or crawl on all fours. Others sit perfectly still, with blankets over their heads, shielding lit matches from the wind and their gaunt faces from the men on the bridge above.

This is where Kabul’s surging numbers of heroin addicts gather to smoke, inject and occasionally die — usually with an intently staring audience. Some look on in judgment, others with pity.

Read more ....

My Comment: This heroin addiction epidemic is going to kill more people and destroy more lives than 13 years of war against the Taliban.

Afghanistan Opium Harvest Reaches Record Level

Afghanistan Opium Harvest At Record High As Nato Withdraws -- BBC

Cultivation of opium poppies in Afghanistan has hit new records this year as Nato pulls out combat troops.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said opium production was up by 17% since last year.

Its Afghan Opium Survey 2014 said the area under poppy cultivation had risen by 7% to cover 224,000 hectares.

UNODC head Yury Fedotov warned there was a serious risk Afghanistan could become a narco-state, following the withdrawal of foreign forces.

Most poppies are still grown in southern Helmand province, where British troops were stationed until October.

Read more ....

More News On Afghanistan's Opium Harvest Reaching Record Levels

Another victory for the coalition: Billions spent trying to stop opium production in Afghanistan has achieved nothing as cultivation is at an all time high, says UN report -- Daily Mail
Disappointing news in Afghan drug war -- CBS/AP
Afghan opium crop set for record high -- The Guardian
Afghan opium crop at fresh high as foreign troops withdraw -- Reuters
Afghanistan opium poppy cultivation at record high: UN -- AFP
UN: Opium Production in Afghanistan to Hit Record High in 2014 -- VOA
Afghanistan sees rise in poppy cultivation -- Al Jazeera
Opium Cultivation in Afghanistan Hits Record -- WSJ
Afghanistan opium poppy cultivation up by 7 per cent: UN -- Khaama Press
Afghan opium crop soars to new high, fueling Taliban forces -- New York Post/Reuters
Afghanistan Opium Crop Hits New High, More Than $850 Million Worth Sold -- IBTimes
Opium Crop at Record High in Afghanistan -- Time
Afghan opium production up over last year, UN report says -- Stars and Stripes
Afghan Opium Poppy Cultivation At All Time High -- SKY News
Afghanistan opium production hits new high as foreign troops pack up -- CSM
Afghan Elections Cited as Factor in Record Levels of Opium Production -- New York Times
Record opium poppy cultivation has 5% of Afghan pop. using heroin -- RT

Afghanistan Opium Poppy Production Booming

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Defense Department map, released by the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.

After $7Bln US Effort, Afghanistan Poppy Cultivation Still Booming: US Watchdog -- RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, October 21 (RIA Novosti) – Despite US counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan amounting to $7.6 billion, opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan hit an all-time high in 2013, the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) stated in a special report released last Tuesday.

"Despite spending over $7 billion to combat opium poppy cultivation and to develop the Afghan government"s counternarcotics capacity, opium poppy cultivation levels in Afghanistan hit an all-time high in 2013," Special Inspector General John Sopko said in the report.

Read more ....

More News On Afghanistan's Opium Poppy Production Reaching An All-Time High

This map shows all the areas in Afghanistan where poppy production rose -- Washington post
Poppy cultivation hits record high in Afghanistan in 2013 despite over $7B spent to combat it -- FOX News/AP
US watchdog: Afghanistan poppy production at record levels despite counternarcotics efforts -- Stars and Stripes
Afghan Opium Poppies Thrive Despite $7 Billion From U.S. -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Despite costly U.S. effort, Afghan poppy cultivation hits new high -- Reuters
Afghan Poppy Cultivation At All-Time High -- Radio Free Europe
Afghan Opium Poppies Hit Record High Despite $7 Billion US Campaign -- NBC
America’s $7.6B war on opium in Afghanistan failing: inspector general -- Washington Times
America’s $7.6 billion war on Afghan drugs fails, opium production peaks -- RT
Afghan Poppy Cultivation at ‘All-Time High’ -- Washington Free Beacon
Opium Poppy Cultivation Hits All-Time High in Afghanistan -- IBTimes
The U.S. Has Spent $7 Billion Fighting the War on Drugs in Afghanistan. It Hasn’t Worked. -- Slate
We Spent $7.6 Billion To Crush The Afghan Opium Trade—And It's Doing Better Than Ever -- Mother Jones

Afghanistan's Opium Economy Is Booming

Afghanistan's Opium Economy Is Doing Better Than Ever -- Alice Speri, Vice

Despite billions spent in eradication efforts, Afghanistan’s opium harvest is set to break all records this year, as one of the country’s primary agricultural activities and most profitable export trades blooms in the midst of an uncertain political and military transition.

Afghanistan produced tons of opium in 2013 — an estimated 6,062 tons in fact, — growing its output for the third consecutive year, and up 36 percent from the year before.

The hike followed a short-lived drop in production as international and Afghan officials attempted to eradicate cultivation of the delicate plant, which produces the main ingredient used in heroin.

Read more ....

My Comment: As foreign forces continue to leave ..... it is now safe to say that the West's war against opium in Afghanistan has been a complete and utter failure, disaster, and defeat.