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2 Dynamics of Poppy Cultivation in Argu District of Badakhshan Contents 1. Introduction General Background Study Objectives Methodology Study implementation Data collection Population profile and poppy cultivation Household composition and labour force Agriculture a. Land Characteristics b. Irrigation intensity c. Crop Rotation d. Land occupation Livestock Opium poppy cultivation Opium production Opium as a source of income Marketing and trading of opium products Opium as a means of credit a. Trends in poppy cultivation Factors behind poppy cultivation a. Village level b. Nationallevel c. International level Conclusion Recommendations... 19

3 Dynamics of Poppy Cultivation in Argu District of Badakhshan 1 1. Introduction Considering the importance of research as a tool of acquiring information for all concerned bodies, Monitoring and Research Unit of Afghanaid planned to study the dynamics of poppy cultivation in Argu district, Badakhshan province. Afghanaid has been implementing a community development programme and an engineering programme in three remote provinces of Afghanistan: Badakhshan, Konar and Ghar. The ~community development programme encompasses seven sectors, one of which is agriculture. The agriculture sector aims at improving the livelihood of people through raising their agricultural income, which would also address the food security of the community, by developing a productive agricultural system and encouraging sustainable use of common property resources such as irrigation systems, forests and pastures. Therefore, the study links to our main activities through the agriculture component of our COP. One of the assumptions was that the opium produced in Argu 1, is consumed in lshkashim and Zebok and this study was supposed to look into poppy both cultivation and opium production & consumption. However, due to time constraint and workload the consumption part was left out. Moreover, during the study it was discovered that Argu does not export opium to Zebok and lshkashim; in fact the opium consumed there is produced mostly in Khash area. The findings of this research paper are mainly based on the data compiled during the study through individual interviews with farmers and group discussions with farmers and elders of _local people in five sampled villages. This document has been divided into six sections, where the first two sections provide an introduction and a general background. Section three gives a brief population profile and how it relates to opium production. Section four discusses opium as a source of income and in sections five and six we have attempted to conclude and give recommendations. 1 According to the current (29 province) UN map of Afghanistan widely used by donors and the aid community, Argu is part of Faizabad district, centre of Badakhshan province.

4 Dynamics of Poppy Cultivation in Argu District of Badakhshan 2 2. General Background Poppy cultivation has a long history in Afghanistan and has been a national problem in different parts of the country. Argu is one of the districts with large-scale poppy cultivation within Badakhshan. According to UN opium poppy survey in 1995 overall production of opium in Afghanistan decreased by 32% between 1993 to1995. This decrease was remarkable in Uruzgan, Helmand and Kandahar provinces. However, in Badakhshan opium poppy production increased by 164% (from 22 MT to 61 MT). The factors contributing to this rapid increase were local addiction and newly emerging demand in the neighbouring central Asian countries, particularly Tajikistan - offering high prices for raw opium and even advance payment for harvest time. According to local people poppy cultivation started from centuries back, initially merchants travelling on the silk route brought poppy seed from China. Though wheat farming and livestock are still the major sources of income, in the last decade poppy cultivation and opium trade have become a key economic activity throughout the district. Most of the irrigated lands are allocated for poppy and a large number of men who were previously involved in livestock raising and wheat or barley farming (or related trades) are now either busy in poppy cultivation or opium trade. Small scale poppy cultivation was common from many years back in Argu but large-scale cultivation became common in the last two decades when people lost access to the main markets in the cities because of war in the country and closure of access roads in particular. After the communist coup, followed by the Soviet invasion, the government was controlling the cities and main roads while the Mujahideen were effectively controlling the rest of the country. As the Mujahideen enjoyed popular support from people, the cities and roads were inaccessible to a large majority of the rural communities. These communities also lost the government's support for mid to large-scale agriculture systems, further aggravating the agriculture problem. After losing their traditional markets in district centres and a good part of productivity due to above-mentioned and a complex array of many ~other factors, the people were forced to look for alternative markets in neighbouring countries. Pakistan and Iran were the two neighbouring countries that freely let Afghans stay in their territory as refugees. More than 6 million Afghans were living as refugees during the peak conflict years. The huge demand for opium in the markets of these two countries (mainly for export to Europe and Northern America) coupled with almost no restriction on planting illicit crops in the Mujahideen controlled areas paved the way for the catastrophic conversion to opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan Study Objectives The main objective of the study was to explore the dynamics and reasons behind poppy cultivation, opium production in Argu district and trading to other areas. In simpler words why are people cultivating poppy and what are they doing with the main (opium) and by-products (seeds or Khash-Khash, pods and stalks)?

5 Dynamics of Poppy Cultivation in Argu District of Badakhshan Methodology Prior to implementing the study the methodology was developed after some desk research and brainstorming sessions. Two questionnaires one for community level (group discussion) and one for individual interviews were developed for data collection. The farmer (individual) level questionnaire was to explore farm gate information about input cost, yield and farmers opinion about poppy cultivation while in community level questionnaires the intention was to find out village level perceptions as well as collectively agreed-upon information about poppy cultivation and trading to other areas. Sampling of the villages was based on stratified-quota sampling, the stratification was planned to be by having or not having a Village Organisation (VO). Both VO and Non-VO villages were studied, but due to an untimely heavy snowfall, the number of non-vo villages included was lower in comparison to VO villages. One day was allocated for each village and from each of the selected villages 10 to 12 farmers were interviewed. The group discussion preceded the individual interviews, helping prepare individuals to respond more freely to inquiries about a sensitive issue such as opium production Study implementation The study was carried out in five villages (Darkhan, Mauzeh Dehmagas, Alimango, Changha, and Hafiz Mughul) in Argu district by M. Ismail Qarizada from MED along with four COP field staff. Prior to starting data collection in the field both community level and farmer level questionnaires were described and discussed with the study team in Faizabad. The study was carried out successfully with the full cooperation of the field staff as planned and the study team managed to hold 5 group discussions and interview 52 farmers in the selected villages Data collection Data collection process was completed in two stages; group discussions with farmers and elders, and individual interviews with farmers. The group discussions were not simple question and answer sessions. They were more of informal discussions where the surveyor raised the issues and each of the participants had the right to freely express his views. Of course the study team were also acting as facilitators. On average each group discussion had 12 to 30 participants. Efforts were made to involve all participants in the discussions. On average each group discussion lasted for one and a half hour.

6 Dynamics of Poppy Cultivation in Argu District of Badakhshan 4 3. Population profile and poppy cultivation 3.1. Household composition and labour force According to the baseline survey data collected by Afghanaid in 1999 (the baseline survey report was completed in September 2000), the mean household size in Argu was calculated 9.6, with standard deviation of The table below gives a summary of household composition indicators within the case villages. Table 1. Overview of the key indicators in the case villages ~ Village Mauzeh Hafez Indicator Darkhan Dehmagas Ali mango Mughul Changha Total no. of household in the village Mean no. of household members Estimated total population Total irrigated area cultivated Uerib) Total rain fed area cultivated Uerib) Types of crop commonly Wheat, Wheat, Wheat, Wheat, Poppy, cultivated maize, poppy, poppy, barley, wheat, barley, pea, barley grass barley grass poppy, grass potato, poppy pea, pea, melon pea, melon onion, mustered vegetables, and water barley, grass ~ melon melon pea, alfalfa Total irrigated area cultivated with poppy Uerib) Total rain fed area cultivated with poppy Uerib) Total number of farmers in the village Total number of poppy growers

7 Dynamics of Poppy Cultivation in Argu District of Badakhshan Agriculture The collected data depicts that most of the people depend on rain fed land rather than irrigated. Irrigated land is very limited in Argu. The population in Argu are mostly large landowners. The maximum area of rain fed land owned by a household is around 100 jeribs (5 jeribs = 1 hectare) where as the maximum irrigated land is much lower at 15 jeribs. It is apparent that the larger households own larger areas of land. Households of less than 7 members own a maximum of 2 jeribs of irrigated land. Households of 7 to 10 members hold a maximum of 4 jeribs and only a small number of households with more than 11 members have access to a maximum of 15 jeribs of irrigated land. Most of the male adults tend to be farmers; only 7.69% of the working force depends on daily wages received from labour. The 'labourers usually do not have their own land. However, only 1.92% of the population are busy in non-agricultural activities, others are working on either rented or sharecropped land. The inhabitants of Argu try different ways of cropping in order to obtain their basic minimum needs. They sharecrop, rent or intercrop the lands that they operate. The average area of irrigated land being operated in Argu starts from 1 jerib in small households to 3 jeribs in large households. The average size of rain fed land operated ranges between 21 jeribs for small households and 37 jeribs in large households. The table below illustrates that small households (less than 7 members) own an average 0.5 jeribs of irrigated and 8 jeribs of rain fed land. The middle size households (7 to 10 members) own around 1.6 jeribs of irrigated and 25 jeribs of rain fed land. Big households (more than 10 members) own 2.5 jeribs of irrigated and 31.5 jeribs of rain fed land in average. Table 2. Land ownership status by household size in jerib. Hafiz Mauzeh Overall HH Size Type of land Ali mango Changha Darkhan Mughul Dehmagas mean Irrigated land <7 Rain fed land Irrigated land to 10 Rain fed land Irrigated land to 14 Rain fed land % of the population rent irrigated land and the same percentage rent rain fed land. A large number of the people (32.69%) sharecrop land, however, the size of rain fed land sharecropped by the large or small households does not differ. Households having less than 7 members sharecrop an average of 15 jeribs rain fed land. Where as the same group sharecrop an average of 3 jeribs of irrigated land. Households holding between 7 to 10 ~members sharecrop an average of 15.5 jeribs rain fed and 3 jeribs of irrigated land. Households with more than 11 members sharecrop an average of 16 jeribs of rain fed and 4 jeribs of irrigated land.

8 Dynamics of Poppy Cultivation in Argu District of Badakhshan 6 Table 3. Land cultivation status by household size in jerib Hafiz Mauzeh Overall HH Size Type of land Ali mango Changha Darkhan Mughul Dehmagas mean <7 7 to 10 ~ 11 to 14 Irrigated land Rain fed land Irrigated land Rain fed land Irrigated land Rain fed land As the number of members in the household increases the number of labour force becomes higher. This number is defined to be the population between 15 and 65 years old. The table below shows the size of the households in the sampled villages and the mean number of male workers in each group. Households with less than 7 members have at least one adult male member who works. This number grows to 2 members and 3 members in the households whose members range in between 7 to 10 and 11 to 14 members respectively. Table 4. Mean of the household size and male adult workers per household in the sampled villages, in Argu Household size. < Mean of Mean of Mean of Mean of Mean of Mean of the HH the male the HH the male the HH the male Village size workers size workers size workers Alimango Changha Darkhan Hafiz Mughul Mauzeh Dehmagas Overall mean a. Land Characteristics The collected data depicts that most of the people depend on rain fed land rather than ~irrigated land because irrigated land is so limited that even by cultivating cash crop they can not afford to meet their basic needs-, n particular during the past three years whefl _some areas of their irrigated lands changed to rain fed land as a result of drought.

9 Dynamics of Poppy Cultivation in Argu District of Badakhshan b. Irrigation intensity Due to insufficient water in the area, crops cultivated in Argu are not irrigated as often as required. For example wheat needs 5 irrigations, but is irrigated only 4 times. Or poppy needs 4 irrigations, while in practice it is irrigated only 3 times. Most of the population cannot accomplish this requirement and this reason compels the population to seek an alternative for the crops needing irrigation. 3.2.c. Crop Rotation Crop rotation is different for irrigated and rain fed lands throughout the district, mainly rain fed lands are allocated for local wheat, barley and grass pea where irrigated lands are allocated for poppy and wheat. The figures compiled from the study depicts that on average 57% of irrigated lands were allocated for poppy and 43% was allocated for wheat while in rain fed areas 95% was cultivated with local wheat, barley and other crops and only 5% was allocated for poppy in the studied villages. Taking into account crop rotation, irrigated lands had poppypoppy-poppy or Poppy-wheat-poppy or wheat-poppy-wheat rotation. The crop rotation pattern on rain fed was found to be wheat-fallow-wheat, wheat-barley/grass pea-wheat and wheat-poppy-wheat. The people in Argu cannot follow the required or necessary crop rotation patterns, mainly because of the small land holding. As a result of intensive cultivation and not following regular crop rotation their lands have become weak and less productive. 3.2.d. Land occupation Land occupation for two seasonal sowing spring and autumn are from March to July/August and October to July respectively. The following table shows period of land occupation for local wheat and poppy in irrigated and rain fed lands. Table 5. ~Crops Land occupation period for wheat and poppy Land Occupation period Spring sowing Autumn sowing From To From To Local wheat (irrigated land) April August October July Local wheat (rain fed land) March July October August Improved wheat (irrigated land) March June October June Improved wheat (rain fed land) March July October July Poppy (irrigated land April August October August Poppy (rain fed land) March July October July

10 Dynamics of Poppy Cultivation in Argu District of Badakhshan Livestock After agriculture, livestock is the main source of income and food for the families. Even though grazing lands and pastures are not abundant in the district- because of general land steepness and also continuous soil erosion - most of the families keep at least some sheep, goats, one or two cows and a donkey. Before the war, exporting animals to other parts of the country was a good source of income and people were trying to expand their animal husbandry. During the study it was indicated that many people had to sell most of their animals for low prices because they were not able to feed them. The following table shows number of animals owned by 52 persons interviewed in the case villages. ~ Table 6. Livestock ownership in the case villages Distribution of livestock ownership Average no. Average no. Average no. Average no. of sheep and Average no. Village of oxen of cows of calves goats of donkeys Alimango Changha Darkhan Hafiz Mughul Mauzeh Dehmagas Overall mean Opium poppy cultivation ~Cultivation of poppy seed is done on large scale amongst almost all the farmers in the case villages. The community level data shows that in 4 out of 5 villages all farmers cultivate poppy, to be specific 97.73% of farmers in the case villages grow poppy. Only 2 out of 52 respondents claimed that they do not plant poppy. Cultivation of poppy seed is done since long ago in the district. One of the respondents indicated that he first planted poppy in According to the baseline survey of Argu district in 1999 the total irrigated land cultivated with poppy was in excess of 906 hectares whereas the rain fed land under poppy cultivation was very limited. The population claims to have observed an increase since From the data collected during this study, the average area of irrigated land cultivated with poppy per village is 126 jerib (+ 5 = 25.2 hectares). Although our sample size of 5 villages is considerably small, we can multiply 25.2 by 140, which is the number of villages in Argu and get 3,570 hectares. This number is more than 4 times larger than 906 (or the area of irrigated land cultivated with pop.py has increased by 4 folds in just one year). Another explanation for this fact could be that the UNDCP surveyors are not very closely based in the community. Therefore, people give them reduced figures. While Afghanaid staffs are usually local people,

11 .Dynamics of Poppy Cultivation in Argu District of Badakhshan 9 closely working with the communities in more than one sector, therefore the community finds it difficult to give largely inaccurate figures. People grow poppy because it is the only profitable crop in the area, even though most of the villagers confess that the government has prohibited cultivation of poppy. As a result in some villages the cultivation was reduced for some years (namely from 1987 to 1990). However, because the main income of the families is obtained from their farms they restarted plantation of poppy seed in the last decade as they were faced by lack of other crops and vegetable seed. The land devoted to poppy cultivation is generally the most productive irrigated land. And if the farmers don't own irrigated lands, they allocate the best portion of their rain fed lands to poppy. In the case villages out of the total irrigated land 55% of it is cultivated with poppy, where as only 3% of total operated rain fed land is occupied with this product. Also according io the collected data on average 1.3 jerib of irrigated land and 0.8 jerib of rain fed land are being cultivated with poppy by each household. During the last couple of years some new varieties have been imported from other areas. Such as Watani with white flowers from Jalalabad, Wardujee from Warduj, Khashi with pinkish white colours from Khash and some other varieties from Niagara. Table 7. Average area cultivated with poppy by individual farmers in the case villages Irrigated land Rain-fed land Area Cultivated Area Cultivated cultivated with poppy cultivated with poppy Village Jerib Jerib % Jerib Jerib % Ali mango changha Darkhan Hafiz Mughul Mauzeh Dehmagas Overall average The figures below show the percentage of the irrigated and rain fed land cultivated with poppy in the last three years structured by household size. Cultivation of the poppy on the irrigated land was higher in1998 among the middle sized households. Above 70% of the irrigated land was cultivated by poppy. This practice decreased to around 65% in the two recent years. No significant change is observed in the cultivation of poppy among the small and large sized households. Only 20% of the households, whose family members ranged between 7 and 10 persons, had planted poppy in Whereas within the same group, household size, in 1998 and 2000, the number of poppy planters tended to reach 35%. The proportion of the ~rain fed land planted by middle size households remained almost the same size during the

12 Dynamics of Poppy Cultivation in Argu District of Badakhshan 10 last three years. Large households observe a decrease of almost 5% in the size of rain fed land planted poppy. In %> of their land was occupied by poppy where in 2000 this size decreased to 1 0 /o of total rain fed land. Poppy cultivation on irrigated land Poppy cultivation on rain-fed land 70 -g 60 IV ~ 50 ~ 40.!!! ; 30 u t r HH size: 0 > Years 3.5. Opium production to ~ -g IV ~ j ~ 40 c j ~ 3o ~ ~ Cll - u! t , HH size: 0 > Years 7 to to 14 It is widely known that Argu district is considered to be one of the largest opium producing districts of Badakhshan. The yield of poppy ranges between 1 to 30 kg per jerib, depending on the quality of land and other external factors. The estimated average of the poppy yield is 10.5 kg per jerib for irrigated land and 5.1 kg per jerib for rain fed land. Out of the total 396 farmers inhabiting in the case villages 387 (97.73%) of them grow poppy. The maximum yield that could be obtained from one jerib irrigated land is 30kg where as the maximum yield of poppy from one jerib rain fed land does not exceed 16kg. The tables below indicate that the population dedicate almost twice as much of their area for poppy cultivation. The reason behind is that the production of this product is more profitable than any other product for example wheat. The small households cultivate an average of 0.1 jerib land with wheat, whereas the area cultivated with poppy is 1.1 jerib. In the large households the area for both products increases to 1.3 jerib and 2.2 jeribs, respectively. Table 8. Distinction of poppy and wheat on the irrigated land by household structure Irrigated land Max Average Household Mean land Cultivated Cultivated Mean land Cultivated Cultivated size operated wheat poppy operated wheat poppy ~ < to to

13 Dynamics of Poppy Cultivation in Argu District of Badakhshan 11 Table 9. Distinction of poppy and wheat on the rain fed land by household structure Max Rain fed land Average Household Mean land Cultivated Cultivated Mean land Cultivated Cultivated size operated wheat poppy operated wheat poppy < to to Poppy cultivation 40, ~ -- ~ ~ M 35 :0 30 ;:: ~ 25 "C c 20 ~ ('Q C1l 15 < tv1eanland Cultivated Cultivated tv1ean land Cultivated Cultivated operated wheat poppy operated wheat poppy Irrigated land Total land operated Rain-fed land HH size: 0<7 0 7 to 10 o 11 to 14 Besides the opium resin, the by products are widely used by the population. The poppy by products has two main usages. First, production of gee and/or exporting of the seed (Khash-Khash). Secondly, pods and stalks are used for fuel and production of soap. The practice differs among the villages. Some villages use most part of the poppy seed for gee production and do not export the seed itself. However, some other export a small proportion of that seed to other areas and also produce gee from the remaining seed. The poppy seed (Khash-Khash) and dried pods are traditionally used as medicine. The poppy pods and stalks are also utilized as fuel. Local soap is being produced out of a small part of the pods and stalks. An average of 81% of the population uses the pods and stalks as fuel and at the same time as raw material for soap production.

14 Dynamics of Poppy Cultivation in Argu District of Badakhshan 12 Table 10. How people use poppy by products Poppy seed usage Ghee Village production Exporting Alimango Changha Darkhan Hafiz Mughul Mauzeh Dehmagas Overall average Opium pods stalks usage Fuel Soap % 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% Uses of poppy by-products Alimango Changha Darkhan Hafiz Mughul Usage &9 Ghee production l!!l Exporting Mauzeh Dehmagas ofuel Overall average tmsoap The compiled data from the study depicts that both wheat and poppy are relatively labour intensive where input costs of poppy for seed is very low and labour cost is very high and vice versa input cost of seed for wheat is high and labour cost is low.

15 Dynamics of Poppy Cultivation in Argu District of Badakhshan Opium as a source of income In Argu people depend mainly on rain fed land and possess very limited irrigated land. Add to that lack of proper access to main markets and the war economy with high inflation - it is no.,surprise that the people are left with no choice but to cultivate small-irrigated plots with poppy to get subsistence level income Marketing and trading of opium products In theory (UNDCP 1995 report) it is said that opium production in Badakhshan had then increased because of opening new markets for local addiction and emerging international demand through Tajikistan to other Central Asian countries, offering high prices for raw opium. Looking at the marketing side of opium resin, the number of shops dealing in opium has considerably increased in comparison to ten years before in the villages, particularly in Wahdat city bazaar where most of them are seasonal. According to the villagers mainly credit transactions are done through these shopkeepers. Farmers from different villages have to take most of their essential commodities in loan from these shopkeepers and are obliged to.compensate with opium at harvest time. Due to the time lag and high inflation rates in the area farmers lose a lot of money because the prices are fixed at the borrowing time. According to a case study of opium economy in north eastern Afghanistan prepared by Jonathan Good hand (part of the research conducted by University of Manchester/INTRAC on the role of NGOs in complex political emergencies, second version, published 2nd June 2000), many of the young men who are dominating the trade have invested in small shops and business in villages. For instance in Dehdehi village ten years ago, there were only four shops. Now there are over 20 shops and many of them are seasonal, based upon the currency of opium resin. The opium economy is controlled and taxed by local commanders. Villagers have traditionally paid two forms of Islamic taxes Zakat and Ushur, now both of these taxes go to local militia or jaba. For the trading side of opium, shopkeepers or visiting traders from outside the district buy the resin from farmers and then transport it to Central Asian countries. During discussions with some shopkeepers and some villagers, they mentioned that young men mainly monopolize this route, as the Tajik border is arduous and dangerous, involving both life and economic risks. While crossing the Punch River, these young men could be shot by Russian guards deployed for border control. After crossing the border, their Tajik counterparts meet the Afghan traffickers and the resin or heroin is handed over. Mostly the money is paid after the opium has been delivered to the bigger players in the chain and at times this payment is never made. Thus the person involved in the deal loses all of his investment in the deal. Based on some informal discussions with the people of the sampled villages, they are not involved in the marketing side of the opium. Mostly visiting traders pay them in advance for harvest time or invest in some shops, which are basically seasonal and heavily indebted ~

16 Dynamics of Poppy Cultivation in Argu District of Badakhshan 14 farmers have no other choice than to accept the imposed conditions for survival. Farmers stated that they get the least profit because farm gate prices are very low compared to prices on the other side of the border. A number of farmers stated that the opium trade has further flourished and became more complicated when small traders from Ningarhar province opened a new route of trading ~t rough Kunduz and then eastern parts of Afghanistan to Pakistan. As a matter of fact increase in the number of traders from different parts and their investment has encouraged landlords to allocate all of their irrigated lands to poppy, thus further complicating the issue of switching back to other cash crops. One important point to be made here is that it was our hypothesis before carrying out the study that mainly the produced opium resin is transported to Zebok and lshkashim, but the findings of this study clearly state this not to be the case. The consumption side of opium should be mapped out in a separate study in lshkashim and Zebok districts, if necessary Opium as a means of credit Poppy cultivation plays a vital role as means of payment for the landless farmers who deal with landlords in sharecropping. During the individual interviews farmers stated that mostly landlords give their lands on better sharecropping terms for poppy than any other crop. The.compiled data reveals the fact that amongst % sharecroppers almost all of them cultivated lands with poppy. Furthermore, opium resin for farmers has a vital credit role in loan transactions- moneylenders lend cash in advance to farmers for the next harvest time and shopkeepers in Wahdat city bazaar give essential commodities in loan by forcing them to pay in opium resin. Taking account of indebtedness feature in the case villages, it was found that 40 out of 52 respondents were in debt. 4.2.a. Trends in poppy cultivation As seen in the following diagram, poppy cultivation on irrigated land is seemingly decreasing while increasing for rain fed lands. However, it must be recognised that the time range is limited to 3 years. Farmers indicated that even the minimum required numbers of irrigation was difficult this year. Therefore, people are trying to find drought resistant varieties to cultivate in rain fed areas.

17 Dynamics of Poppy Cultivation in Argu District of Badakhshan 15 Irrigated and rain-fed land cultivated with poppy.c.:::: QJ..., r::::... cu QJ < ~-~#~--~ ~---~ - - -~- ~7:~~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ '... r:;:l "'...,..30.<5 -..,..,......,., ~2~7.~ ~~-~ ~ Total irrigated land cultivated = Total rain fed land cultivated Linear In theory poppy cultivation is less water consuming compared to other major crops such as wheat, maize and barley. Data compiled through different surveys conducted by UN agencies and some other NGOs revealed the fact that the Watani (local) variety with white flowers is relatively more drought resistant. During the study it was also found that mostly people prefer to cultivate Watani variety rather than other common varieties in the area. It is worth mentioning here that farmers interviewed in the case villages were keen to have improved wheat seeds with fertilizer, but a small number of them received the package 2 (of improved wheat seed and fertilizer). A farmer in Changha village who had tried the package said: "I am happy with yield of improved wheat seed applied with fertilizer, but we still face some problems such as insufficient irrigation water and most of the poor farmers are not able to pay the package cost. We requested for decrease in package cost and if NGOs can provide us the package in long-term (one year) loans. Moreover, only a few farmers received the package and Afghanaid should provide the package to a larger number of farmers." 4.3. Factors behind poppy cultivation Here we will try to summarise the reasons for cultivating opium poppy. Badakhshan has a long tradition of poppy cultivation having come from China and Bukhara (present day 2 The package of improved wheat seed and fertilizer consists of 50 kg wheat and 50 kg urea per jerib of land. Afghanaid donates an initial amount of wheat and fertilizer to the village wheat bank and from there it is lent to the farmers.

18 Dynamics of Poppy Cultivation in Argu District of Badakhshan 16 Tajikistan) via silk route, but large-scale cultivation has become a major part of local economy only in recent years. This has several factors at village, national and international levels. 4.3.a. Village level Very limited irrigated lands and low yield from their rain-fed lands. Heavy indebtedness caused by the utmost poverty. High income from poppy and having no alternative crops to address their basic needs, particularly in the recent years when wheat and other cash crops yield have been decreasing as a result of drought, poor quality seed and existence of pests and diseases Borrowing money in advance from shopkeepers and landlords where the farmers have to pay back in opium resin (opium resin is the credit currency) plays a vital role in keeping the opium economy running. Specially because money lenders are prepared to provide loans on relatively good terms for opium production Increase in population while the area of land tenure has remained constant. Furthermore, improper intensive cultivation has weakened the land. Major decreases in the number of livestock kept by the people, which was a good source of income before war. Unavailability of other types of legal and safe employment. 4.3.b. National level As the practical scope of the study was Argu district, at the national and international level we can provide only a presentation and superficial analysis of the commonly known facts. The factors that have encouraged the increase in poppy cultivation in different parts of the country are direct consequents of the past twenty years of war, particularly in the remote areas like Badakhshan where the province has effectively lost economic access to the country capital and in turn districts have lost access to most traditional markets. The collapse of the central government that facilitated some subsidies for wheat and employment opportunities is ~another aggravating factor. According to Jonathan Goodhand who carried out a case study of the opium economy in North Eastern Afghanistan "One of the important factors was the removal of state subsidies for wheat in Badakhshan with the collapse of government in This combined with disruption of the wheat supply from neighbouring Kunduz province led to sharp rises in wheat prices and probably hastened the switch by poor farmers from wheat to poppy." After collapse of central authority in Kabul and absence of a capable central government in the country, the control over the borders is almost nonexistent. Laws to inhibit the cultivation of poppy are lacking and the enforcement structures are not available. The latest and very different facade of this issue has been the recent decree by Emir of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Taliban controlled areas) banning cultivation of poppy. While specific surveys are not available~ it has been reported that poppy cultivation has dramatically

19 Dynamics of Poppy Cultivation in Argu District of Badakhshan 17 dropped in Taliban controlled areas. To understand how this could have happened, we need to understand two issues, one the nature of Afghans concerning law, two the concept of a religious community. Generally considered lawless, especially by adversaries, Afghans have always had local and at times state governed law systems that have worked very efficiently. Islam is the religion of almost 99% of the people and this percentage of Muslims in a country is equalled only by Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Moreover, throughout the history, Afghans have successfully resisted dilution attempts by external ideologies. Holy Koran (the back bone of Shari'a, the Islamic law) prohibits only liquor specifically. Other drugs are not mentioned in the Holy Koran. Also worth noting is that in Islam prohibiting the permitted is as profane as permitting the prohibited and because of this Muslim scholars have not been as unanimous on opium and hashish as they are on liquor. During the Mujahideen and most part of Taliban control, poppy cultivation was prohibited, neither by the state nor by the religion. The decree still doesn't mean it is prohibited by religion, but it does mean that the Taliban Emirate banned poppy cultivation and opium production. And also because of the important role of the Emir (third to Allah and the Prophet, Mohammad PBUH) in the religious system, as long as the decree is there, poppy will practically remain uncultivable. 4.3.c. International level It is common knowledge that raw opium is seldom used in the main drug consumption markets and heroin is the main derivative of opium used as the final consumer product. Thus, the production chain also includes the small facilities used for deriving heroin. Although the,production part could be discussed further, what is most interesting is the delivery route to the final consumer. More than 90% of this delivery or trafficking is done by large-scale operations and almost always protected by corrupt systems or individuals in the law enforcement or power structures, for most part of route. Although academic or research quality papers are not available on this issue, as a lone example we can mention a report by the US General Accounting Office (GAO) to the US House of Representatives, dated May The report titled "Information on Drug-related Police Corruption" closely follows its title and has some interesting information on the subject. The ever increasing international demand for opium derivatives and the utmost poverty and lack of options and alternatives of the people have almost forced the otherwise generally law abiding people of Afghanistan to become a major part of this global problem. 3 The report is available as a PDF file on ~

20 oynamics of Poppy Cultivation in Argu District of Badakhshan Conclusion Despite the general limitations of this study, the following points are obvious: Although large-scale cultivation of poppy has been practiced since the last two decades, small-scale poppy cultivation was practiced in the study area for many years. Collapse of central government and elimination of subsidies in basic food items particularly in wheat, destruction of access roads and irrigation systems have caused unexpected price hikes, thus compelling the farmer communities to high input/output ratio cash crops, even if these were illicit. External investment in opium trade has encouraged allocation of large areas of lands to poppy cultivation. With time the poppy cultivation and trade has become the centre pillar of the community's economy. The opium produced in Argu is smuggled to Tajikistan and other central Asian countries. From here it finds its way to western markets, usually in processed form. The amount of improved wheat seed distributed to farmers so far is insufficient and very few farmers have received the package. Lack of agricultural land, irrigation water, improved wheat seed and fertilizer has contributed to increased poppy cultivation. Some other factors are: 1. Opium is obtained in four months, while wheat yield takes about seven months. 2. The income from poppy will always exceed wheat per unit of land, because while the wheat market is mostly a balanced market, the demand for opium is far exceeding supply. One reason for this is probably that the international measures taken against illicit drugs are much better at abating the supply mechanisms and not a fraction as good at reducing the demand side, thus resulting in a highly imbalanced market for illicit drugs. 3. Wheat cannot be stored for more than a year, whereas poppy could be safely stored for many years. Opium could be transported (or smuggled, if necessary) more easily, compared to wheat. Mainly due to volume/value ratio. 4. The only point in favour of wheat compared to poppy is that poppy requires a lot of experienced labour during thinning, weeding and harvest. During weeding and thinning, women also take part with men. The yield of wheat has been continuously decreasing due to lack of improved wheat seed, fertilizer, irrigation systems, etc. The opium produced in Argu is smuggled to Tajikistan and other central Asian countries. From where it finds it's way to western markets, usually in processed form.

21 Dynamics of Poppy Cultivation in Argu District of Badakhshan 19 Opium plays a vital role in credit transactions. Big traders 4, who provide the major investment, encourage the trade of opium. Young men liase between the big traders and the shopkeepers and also in the transport the opium to the Tajik border. The shopkeepers in turn, in order to obtain opium from the farmers by the end of the season, provide them loans. To conclude, improved wheat seed and fertilizer together with a credit system, can reduce the gap between the benefit of planting wheat and poppy. However, most of the time poppy will be producing significantly higher cost benefit ratios, especially if we consider hypothetical factors such as the drug mafia doing research on improved poppy seeds and application of fertilizer. Please note that generous credit schemes for 'growing poppy are already in place. To be able to reduce or eradicate poppy cultivation and opium production, communities need a mixture of motivative and prohibitive measures (morals, laws and law enforcement). The incentives (motivative measures) need to be of an integrated and sustainable nature and the prohibitive measures need to be more widely (internationally) applied. Also coming in the prohibitive measures would be implanting a sense of detest for illicit drugs (production, trade/trafficking and consumption) into the communal conscious of the society. This should be easy with ideologue or religious communities, while with non-ideologue communities; it will require extensive education and advocacy efforts. 6. Recommendations _The agriculture and micro-finance components of the COP programme are the two main sectors that directly challenge poppy cultivation. Package: Since one year Afghanaid started selling the package, which consists of a certain amount of improved wheat seed and fertilizer to be planted on one jerib of land. This project is effective in terms of supplying farmers with seed however it eliminates the access of those farmers who cannot afford the price of package: Also, being a relatively small organization Afghanaid cannot cover the whole population of the district at once. Therefore, the intervention has to continue for a longer period of time. Micro-finance: Wheat banks (Gudams) are established at village level to provide farmers access to credit facilities. Afghanaid grants are given to gudams for the first three years, which are distributed to the farmers as loans. The loans are collected upon harvest time along with 20% compulsory saving. The 20% compulsory saving along with individual savings on one hand and grants provided by Afghanaid on the other hand, should facilitate capital accumulation in the wheat banks. Probably the only support villages with wheat banks would need is providing new or pure varieties of improved seed, every 3 years or so. Because as 'we know, with local cultivation practices improved wheat seeds tend to lose their productivity 4 The local people could not provide clear information about these traders...

22 Dynamics of Poppy Cultivation in Argu District of Badakhshan 20.over a number of years. Wheat banks, as micro-credit facilities, should play a significant role in reducing poppy cultivation. We believe only if considerable amounts of improved seed with fertilizer is provided then a large number of farmers will be ready to switch back from poppy cultivation to other cash crops, in particular wheat farming. In addition, job opportunities through income generation projects, would help in switching back to life as before wartime and eradication of poppy cultivation in the district. Of course, when suggesting alternative crops to communities we should also consider market access, marketing and profitability issues.

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