Poppy love in Afghanistan

Source: The post is based on an article “Poppy love in Afghanistan” published in The Indian Express on 4^th November 2022.

Syllabus: GS 2 – International Relations

Relevance: rising poppy cultivation in Afghanistan and threats from it.

News: Afghanistan has witnessed an increase in the poppy cultivation despite of the ban imposed on its cultivation by Taliban.

What are the highlights of the report say?

According to the report published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), land coverage for poppy cultivation increased by 32% in the year 2021 than 2020.

The report highlighted that 6,200 tonnes of poppy was harvested in the year 2021 which can be converted into 350-380 tonnes of export-quality heroin. Thus, 80% of the world opiates come from Afghanistan.

This opium sales have increased the farmer’s income from $425 million in 2021 to $1.4 billion in 2022.

A report in 2020 said the Taliban’s profits from the illegal drug trade, illegal mining, and exports had earned it $1.6 billion, of which $416 million was from the drug trade alone.

When did poppy cultivation start in Afghanistan?

Taliban realized the importance of poppy cultivation when they first came in power in 1996. They relied on opium sales for money at the time when they were excluded from the world’s trade.

Initially a 10% zakat (tax) on opium were paid to the villages for their welfare but after the Taliban came into power these were directed to the Taliban’s treasury.

Taliban also imposed a 10% zakat on the drug traffickers and some taxes were also imposed on heroin labs.

These taxes were later increased to 20% which brought $45 million to $200 million a year to the Taliban’s treasury.

Taliban expanded its narcotics economy by providing official government licenses for opium cultivation, teaching farmers on poppy cultivation and by distributing fertilizers.

However, the opium trade had low priority for the US military present in the Afghanistan. This is evident from exclusion of narcotics trade from the Doha Accords.

How has opium helped Afghanistan?

Afghanistan’s economic situation is not good and they also do not have access to global funds. Therefore, they rely on taxes along with other humanitarian aids.

In this economic scenario poppy cultivation has become an important pillar of Afghanistan’s economy.

It has helped in the growth of rural economy, providing employment opportunities in rural areas and people have also become dependent on it to sustain their livelihoods.

The opiate export was valued at 9-14% per cent of the country’s GDP.

Moreover, the current ban imposed on the poppy cultivation is not good as this has increased the prices of the opium in the market.

There is fear that high prices may attract people towards poppy cultivation. Therefore, Taliban should remove the ban as it will help them economically and politically.

How has other countries responded towards the drug markets of Afghanistan?

Russia and Central Asian neighboring countries of Afghanistan view this as a threat, i.e. religious extremism, radicalization, and terrorism. India has also raised its concerns.

The threat of terrorism and drug trafficking from Afghanistan are also discussed as inter-related threats to regional and global security in the SCO security meeting.