UN counter-narcotics chief sees signs of hope in (Afghan)poppy eradication

[Barrett808]

AFGHANISTAN: UN counter-narcotics chief sees signs of hope in poppy eradic
(This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations)
© IRIN

KABUL, 2 Jun 2005 (IRIN) - Poppy farmers have demonstrated restraint in the cultivation of the lucrative cash crop and the country has made progress in the interdiction of drug supplies in Afghanistan, Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said on Wednesday at the end of his two day visit to the world's largest poppy growing country.

"We have seen progress in interdiction - some very excellent arrests in the country and outside the country," Costa told IRIN in the capital, Kabul.

Leading poppy growing provinces such as Helmand in the south and Nangarhar in the east have shown a significant reduction in cultivation because farmers have refrained from growing the crop and the eradication efforts of the government, he added. But he was not happy about the eradication efforts in the southern Kandahar province.

"In Kandahar we have had the opposite business. I believe the honesty and integrity of those in charge of the operation is to be examined," said Costa. The head of the UN counter-narcotics agency said that despite the reduction in cultivation and the eradication of poppy fields production might still be significant this year. This was due to better weather conditions following heavier winter rainfall and quite a lot of snow after several years of drought.

"I believe we will not represent a historical record but cannot say if it will be lower or higher than last year," he noted. According to a UNODC report, Afghanistan produced 4,200 mt of opium in 2004, accounting for 87 percent of the world illicit drug supply.

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