KABUL
By Zabihullah Tamanna
A report released on Tuesday by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, known by its acronym SIGAR, states that Afghanistan had its all-time highest poppy harvest in 2013 despite the United States spending $7.6 billion to prevent poppy production.
According to data from the United Nations cited in the report, 209,000 hectares were used for cultivation in 2013 compared to the previous record of 193,000 in 2007.
It also declared that the record production "calls into question the long-term effectiveness and sustainability" of efforts to prevent production.
John F. Sopko, the Special Inspector General, said in a letter to US government officials -- including Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel -- that poppy cultivation has expanded in arid areas of southwestern Afghanistan, in addition to the resumption of cultivation in areas once declared poppy-free.
“In past years, surges in opium poppy cultivation have been met by a coordinated response from the US government and coalition partners, which has led to a temporary decline in levels of opium production,” Sopko said.
The report further added that the narcotics trade poisons the Afghan financial sector and undermines the Afghan state’s legitimacy by stoking corruption, sustaining criminal networks and providing significant financial support to the Taliban and other insurgent groups.
Sopko expected further increases in opium production in 2014 and noted that opium cultivation was a “significant” revenue source for the Taliban.
Afghanistan, producing about 90% of the world's opium, has witnessed an increase in production of 49 percent since 2012.
The United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) estimated that the value of opium and its derivative products produced in Afghanistan was nearly $3 billion in 2013, up from $2 billion in 2012.
This represents an increase of 50 percent in a single year.
“Poppy had been cultivated in only 16 out of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan in 2013, but in the current year it has developed in nearly all provinces,” said a report from the Afghan Ministry of Counter Narcotics.
The report also added that Afghan farmers could get a small share from the billions of dollars circulating in the business, while the Taliban managed to earn $150 million from the trade in 2013.
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