Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan reached a record-high last year, becoming a vital source of funding for terrorist groups in the war-ravaged country, according to a UN report which said insurgency groups, including the Taliban, accrued a minimum of USD 116 - 184 million from taxing the opiate production in Afghanistan.
The report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) noted opium cultivation increased by 63 per cent; from 201,000 hectares in 2016 to an estimated 328,000 hectares in 2017. UNODC said it would be possible to produce between 550 and 900 tonnes of export-quality heroin from the poppies harvested throughout the country during 2017.
The report highlighted that the record level of cultivation creates multiple challenges for the country and its neighbours, as opiate-based illegal drugs make their way across the Afghan border.
"The significant levels of opium poppy cultivation and illicit trafficking of opiates further fuel instability, insurgency and increase funding to terrorist groups in Afghanistan," it said.
The report revealed that the record-high production led to a rapid expansion of the illegal economy in 2017. Being worth between USD 4.1 billion to USD 6.6 billion in 2017 - or 20 and 32 per cent of gross domestic product - the value of the opiate-based economy exceeded by far, the value of Afghanistan's legal exports of goods and services during 2016.
The survey results found a clear and well-established link between lack of government control, insecurity and increased opium poppy cultivation. Lack of governmental presence and security are driving factors for opium cultivation and it further destabilises the country by funding insurgency and anti-government groups.
The Ministry of Counter-Narcotics (MCN)/UNODC estimated that in 2017, insurgency groups, including the Taliban, accrued a minimum of USD 116 - 184 million from taxing the opiate production in Afghanistan.
Opium poppy production has become so engrained in the livelihood of many Afghans, that it is often the main source of income for not only farmers, but also many local and migrant workers hired as day-labourers on farms. In 2017, opium poppy weeding and harvesting provided the equivalent of up to 354,000 full-time jobs to rural areas.
According to the report, opiates have created an illegal economy that has permeated the rural society to the extent that many communities - not only farmers - have become dependent on the income from opium poppy to sustain their livelihoods.
The income from opium poppy helps Afghanistan and its impoverished rural population to cope with its economic and social challenges. This comes at a cost, as the illicit economy discourages private and public investment by fuelling insecurity, violence and insurgency.
Due to the scale and the complexity of the drug problem, the reduction of illicit crop cultivation depends on the achievement of broader development goals, such as well-established and strong state institutions for effective governance, and functioning social protection mechanisms, which call for a strong representation of counter-narcotics in the development strategy for Afghanistan.
The diversity of conditions and factors associated with development and opium poppy cultivation need to be acknowledged and taken into account in the elaboration of effective drug control strategies.
The report added that addressing the opiate problem in Afghanistan remains a shared responsibility. Only a small share of the revenues generated by the cultivation and trafficking of Afghan opiates reaches Afghan drug trafficking groups.
Many more billions of dollars are made from trafficking opiates into major consumer markets, mainly in Europe and Asia. Reducing the Afghan opium production requires an international approach that targets the supply chain of opiates along all its stages, from source to destination, it said.
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