Carrots and Sticks to Stop Poppy

October and November are the months when poppy is planted in southern Afghanistan. You may have seen a few news reports about the extent of poppy production during the 2006-2007 growing season. The UN Office of Drug Control released quite an extensive report here: http://www.unodc.org/documents/crop-monitoring/Afghanistan-Opium-Survey-2007.pdf. They report that 93% of the world's opium came from Afghanistan.

The strategy by the Afghan government for the 2007-2008 season is to try to convince religious leaders and farmers not to plant poppy, but rather some other crop such as wheat. It's a carrot and stick approach. Farmers are given seeds and fertilizer, and they are asked to sign pledges that they will not grow poppy. They are also warned that if they do grow it, in April the Ministry of Interior's Poppy Eradication Force will come to town and cut down their crop.

I attended the meeting that the Governor of Uruzgan and several other provincial officials held with over 200 farmers. 3 of these pictures are from the gathering. In one picture the Governor and Deputy Governor are walking among the farmers as they take their seats. In another the Chair of the Provincial Council is speaking. The other picture is a view of the fields behind the Governor's compound -- sown with a non-poppy crop.