Anti-drug policy of the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” (IEA, the name given to the country by the Taliban)*) has “deprived rural residents of their livelihoods” in the country, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG) report “Trouble in Afghanistan’s Opium Fields: The Taliban War”* with drugs,” Ariana News reports.
The report acknowledges that the IEA’s ban on poppy was “one of the most successful efforts to eradicate poppy in modern history.” According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, following the Taliban bans* Poppy plantations in Afghanistan fell from 233,000 hectares in 2022 to 10,800 hectares in 2023.
However, as long as people in rural areas do not have alternative income opportunities, the likelihood of instability and increased emigration will remain high. In this regard, the Taliban* should relax punitive measures to allow the poorest farmers and those most affected by the ban (probably Western drug traffickers and all those who received billions of dollars from drug trafficking during the 20-year US occupation of Afghanistan. — approx. EADaily ), to phase out poppy cultivation as a commercial crop, the ICG said.
“The IEA government’s Anti-Drug Initiative serves the interests of many foreign actors by creating opportunities for donors to support Afghanistan’s economic stabilization. However, legal crops will not provide sufficient employment for Afghans, so the focus should be on job creation in non-agricultural sectors.” – thinks the ICG.
They also believe that the future of the poppy ban is uncertain: although the Taliban* is inflexible in its implementation, “the country may collapse under the weight of economic difficulties.”
“Foreign donors, who have much to gain from reducing drug production in Afghanistan, should take advantage of the Taliban’s zeal.”* in the fight against drugs and promoting legitimate economic growth. Meanwhile, the Taliban* “We must think about the welfare of the poorest farmers and implement a phased approach to the ban,” — summarized by the ICG.
The UN estimates that the end of opium cultivation affected the lives of nearly 7 million Afghans, while underworld bosses and big landowners prospered under the ban, profiting from skyrocketing prices by selling off their stocks. At the same time, Afghan farmers lost around $1.3 billion a year, or 8% of GDP in 2023.
*Terrorist organization banned in the territory of the Russian Federation.
