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From Poppies to Red Gold:An Alternative Approach to Eradication
Sonali Pillay, Columbia University
Substituting safron or poppies should be pursued as part o a US strategy to re-duce the Aghanistan drug trade, reduce unding or insurgents and the Taliban,and stabilize the region.
According o Richard Holbrooke, he $800 million he U.S. spends per year on couner-narcoics is “waseul and ineecive.” In 2005 he Aghan Eradicaion Force (AEF) wascreaed wih he help o Unied Saes Drug Enorcemen Agency (DEA) and he U.S.Sae Deparmen. These eradicaors have been ambushed by Taliban orces and ar-geed by suicide bombers. Furhermore, eradicaion does no address he reasons whypoppy growing has become so widespread: armers depend upon poppies because heyare a high-value, low-risk crop wih esablished rade roues. Farmers are also indebedo predaory moneylend-ers who claim a percen-age o heir nex harves;hus hey canno surrenderheir crop wihou deaul-ing on loans.When he wesern A-ghanisan Agriculural Ad-minisraion inroducedsaron in a pilo program,a 40-hecare plo yielded320 kilograms o saron,and armers led hundredso applicaions or saroncorms.As one o he mos expen-sive spices in he world, sa-ron has been nicknamed“red gold.” Saron has a armgae value o up o $8,000, making i perhaps he only cropha compees wih he poppy, which yields $5, 200 per hecare. Saron is a high-pro,low-risk crop suiable o climaic condiions in Wesern Aghanisan, which borders Iran;Iran has a long hisory o growing he bes saron in he world. In ac, saron harvess inhe Hera province, bordering Iran, have se he inernaional record or mos produciveyield.To make his crop subsiuion easible, donor naions mus provide unding or corms(saron seeds) o armers in order o avoid aricial price inaion, packaging suppliesor disribuion, sorage aciliies so ha armers can avoid price ucuaions in any givenyear, machinery wih which armers can conduc Inernaional Organizaion or Sandard-
Key Facts
Aghanisan produces 93% o he world’s opiaes.
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The opium rade provides Taliban and insurgen
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groups beween $100 million and $400 million peryear.The UN and NATO believe insurgens ge roughly
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60% o heir annual income rom drugs.The Unied Naions Ofce on Drugs and Crime has
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said ha he Taliban made abou £50 million romopium in 2007.Opium poppies and saron yield $5,200 and up o
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$8,000 per hecare respecively.80% o personnel a he Minisry o Inerior ben-
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e rom he drug rade and 100,000 members ohe Aghan governmen bene direcly rom drugrade, wheher i be rom ransporaion ees, bribesor pros.
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