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Sustainable Alternatives Development For Narcotics in Afghanistan
Sustainable Alternatives Development For Narcotics in Afghanistan
Executive Summary
The ever-increasing nexus between drugs and terrorism is pretty well documented.
Afghanistan is one of the worlds largest producers of opium. The Afghan Drugs
Industry is steadily fueling insurgency and financing domestic and global terrorism.
While the Government of Afghanistan (GoIRA) is struggling to stem the unabated flow
of opium, the Taliban is going all out to maintain its cultivation. It facilitates drug
trafficking as it derives income by levying taxes on cultivation as well as its trade across
the border. The warlord and the Taliban use revenues from this cultivation and trade to
gain access to sophisticated weapons and communication systems and thereby thwart
any attempts to usher in peace and stability by the Afghani Government and the
NATO. Moreover, Afghanistan is a land locked country with a mix of stable and
volatile neighbors. Opium easily permeates through its porous borders and funds
global terror networks as well.
The Karzais Government has taken some concrete measures to contain this menace. It
has established a specialized Ministry of Counter Narcotics (MCN), formulated policies
and laws for counter narcotics. It has adopted several strategic and tactical measures
that have led to several provinces achieving the Poppy Free statuses. It has also
effectively utilized Public Awareness, Demand Reduction, Enforcement, and Alternate
Livelihood steps to alleviate the burden of narcotics on Afghanistan. This paper
attempts to critically evaluate the drugs trade of Afghanistan and provides
recommendations to improve counter efforts.
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................1
Abbreviations and Acronyms ..................................................................................................3
Situational analysis ....................................................................................................................4
Historical Background ...........................................................................................................4
Afghanistan drug profile (demographics).......................................................................4
History of narcotics in Afghanistan ...................................................................................8
Involvement of neighboring countries in Afghan drugs ...............................................10
Current efforts by the Karzais government ......................................................................11
Strategic ...........................................................................................................................11
Tactical .............................................................................................................................11
Achievements .....................................................................................................................14
Recommendations Sustainable Alternative Development..............................................16
Government.....................................................................................................................16
Farmers .............................................................................................................................17
Consumers........................................................................................................................18
References...........................................................................................................................20
Table of figures
Figure 1 Factsheet Afghanistan Opium 2011 ...........................................................................5
Figure 2 Major Poppy Cultivating Provinces of Afghanistan ......................................................6
Figure 3: Opium poppy cultivation map of Afghanistan..............................................................7
Figure 4: Trafficking routes .........................................................................................................8
Figure 5: Ministries and Agencies Segregation ......................................................................... 13
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Situational analysis
Historical Background
Afghanistan drug profile (demographics)
Afghanistan is the opium capital of the world. It produces over ninety percent (90%) of
the worlds opium, powering the global heroin trade and funding both the insurgents
and government-linked warlords. Afghan opium trade generates billions of dollars of
revenue per year into the countrys informal, illegal economy.
Afghanistan in total has 37,910,000 hectare of Agricultural land. Currently, 131,000
hectare of agricultural land is cultivated for opium poppy. The number of households /
individuals involved in opium poppy cultivation reached 191,500 / 1,490,000 or five
percent (5%) of the Afghanistan population in 2011. According to the United Nations
Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimate, the monetary value of the drug
industry is around $1.4 billion [or nine percent (9%) of GDP].
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2010
123,000 ha
Changes
+7%
(104,000-145,000)
Number of poppy free provinces
2011
131,000 ha
(109,000-155,000)
20
-3
17
+3
17
2316 ha
+65%
3810 ha
29.2 kg/ha
+52%
44.5 kg/ha
3,600 mt
+61%
5,800 mt
(3,000-4,200)
Number
of
household
involved
in
opium 248,700
ccultivation.
(4,800-6,800)
-23%
6%
191,500
5%
In % of total population
Average farm-gate price (weighted by production) US$ 128/kg
+41%
US$ 180/kg
+43%
US$ 241/kg
In % of GDP
5%
US$ 4,900
+118%
US 10,700
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Ninety five per cent (95%) of poppy cultivation takes place in Southern and Western
regions of Afghanistan. Statistics indicate that in 2011 Southern region produced 2701
ton (78%), Western 529 ton (17%), North-Eastern 367 ton (9.6%), Eastern 89 ton (2.3%),
Central 80 ton (2%) and Northern 34 ton (.89%) of opium.
The production of opium is widely spread across the country. As outlined below, there
are six major opium-producing provinces that produce 3422 tons of opium annually:
Figure 2 Major Poppy Cultivating Provinces of Afghanistan
Region
Province
Southern
Helmand
1940
Northern
Badakhshan
367
Southern
Kandahar
287
Southern
Daikundi
235
Western
Hirat
227
Western
Farah
212
Southern
Uruzgan
154
Total
ii.
3422
Processing Laboratories
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iii.
Trafficking
Almost all opiates trafficked from Afghanistan enter Pakistan, Iran and Central Asia.
According to UNODC report, 365 tons of heroin was trafficked out of Afghanistan in
2009: 160 tons to Pakistan, 115 tons to Iran, and 90 tons to Central Asia (Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan). In addition, Afghan opium export was accounted for
1200 1400 tons, almost 80% of which was trafficked to Iran. Only a small percentage of
Afghan opiate is consumed in these neighboring countries, but the rest reaches
international markets in Europe, Africa and other Asian countries. In 2009, UNODC
estimated that 150 tons of Afghan Heroin reaches Europe, 120 tons Asian and 45 tons
African markets. All chemical precursors are smuggled in to Afghanistan from
Pakistan, Iran and relatively smaller quantities from Russia and China.
Figure 3: Opium poppy cultivation map of Afghanistan
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Following to collapse of the Soviet Union and withdrawal of their troops from
Afghanistan in 1989, the western support discontinued. This discontinuation resulted in
a significant increase in poppy cultivation, because the insurgents were using drugs as
the only financial means for their operations. Thus the opium production continued to
increase markedly in 1990s. In year 2000 Taliban leader, Mulla Mohammad Omar
issued a decree that announced poppy production against Islamic practices. This decree
resulted in 90% reduction in poppy cultivation in year 2001.
Linkage to terrorism opium ecosystem
Poppy cultivation takes place in areas under control of insurgents (insecure
provinces)
Insurgents tax the opium production at the farm gate (10% of production)
Insurgents collect tax from local/ small drug traders who collect opium from
farms
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Insurgents also receive regular payment from drug traffickers that makes the
largest proportion of their income
UNODC has estimated that insurgents collect an annual income of $ 125 million from
taxes and protection payments from the drug trade. All of this money is used to finance
insurgents operations in the country.
CULTIVATION
Traffickers provide loans to farmers
Insurgents provide security against fee to
poppy fields and growers
Collects 10% tax on harvest
FINANCING INSURGENCY
Access to sohphisticated weapons and
communication equipment via
revenue collected from tax and tariff
direct regular payments by traffickers
PRODUCTON
Insurgents tax production (double
tax)
Provide security to processing labs
against fee
TRAFFICKING
Secure trafficking routes
Collect tariff on each killo of drugs
shipped
Improve International and Regional Cooperation to disrupt the flow of illicit drugs and
precursor materials across borders.
Criminal Justice
Establish an effective criminal justice system that can support drug law enforcement.
Tactical
Public Awareness
Inform, educate, deter and dissuade the population from involvement in the illicit
drugs trade, cultivation of opium and abuse of opiates.
Demand Reduction
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Law enforcement
Eradication
Build the capacity to conduct targeted and verified ground-based eradication of opium
poppy farms.
Alternative livelihood
Strengthen and diversify Alternative Livelihoods (AL) that free farmers and other
rural workers from dependence on opium cultivation and encourages growth of the licit
economy.
Since CN is a crosscutting function that requires multi-agency efforts, the government
mainstreamed CN objectives in all Implementing Line Ministries (ILMs) and relevant
agencies programs. It also established Counter Narcotics Inter-ministerial Committee
(CN-IMC), consisted of deputy ministers and/ or director generals of line ministries
and agencies. This high level CN-IMC coordinates CN efforts across the government.
The following table illustrates the formation of CN working groups under each pillar:
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Law Enforcement
Criminal Justice
International
Regional
Cooperation
Adviser, MCN
Institution-Building
Public Awareness
(MoWA),
Ministry
of
Education
(MoEd),
Independent
Eradication
Alternative
Livelihoods
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Achievements
MCN has been instrumental in adopting both demand reduction and supply
constriction strategies. This two-pronged approach has had some teething troubles but
has been effective nonetheless. As demonstrated in Figure 1 Factsheet Afghanistan
Opium 2011, while MCN has successfully managed to reduce the number of
households involved in opium cultivation, it has lost ground on achieving poppy free
provinces.
National database
One of the biggest accomplishments of MCN was the compilation and creation of a
national database of narcotics. This is turning out of immense value to the Afghani
government, UNODC, international agencies because previously there was absolutely
no account of the opium economy including opium production, opium exports,
families/ individuals involved, number of addicts, percentage of the GDP, percentage
contributing to warlords, etc.
MCN along with MoI raised their law enforcement and eradication drives. This led to
increased seizures and arrest, more Poppy Free provinces. Apart from this, MCN,
UNODC and MoPH launched an Addicts Survey in 2005 that kept track of local
addiction numbers and created 50 Treatment Centers that have been providing
deaddiction and counseling to addicts.
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Alternate livelihood
MCN in accordance with MAIL and MRRD created alternative livelihood programs
that incentivized farmers to quit opium cultivation and seek alternate cyclical cash
crops. This resulted in the Helmand province achieving the status of a Poppy free
Green Zone. MCN also ensured that the farmers who had quit opium cultivation were
provided adequate protection from the warlords.
Public Awareness
MCN sought cooperation from the MoHE, MoPH, MoIC&T and MoEd in raising the
public awareness levels by running a media program on national television and radio,
creating a helpline for answering queries on alternative livelihood and deaddiction and
most importantly utilized the religious leaders and priests as the mouthpiece of the CN
initiative.
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Centralize CN
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Unless the MCN invests in training, hiring and retaining home grown expertise, it will
have to continue relying on international experts. In order to be self-reliant and
autonomous, it has to get local people on board who are in turn willing to invest their
time and careers in MCN.
Commitment
Often times because of lack of resources and manpower, MCN withdraws support once
the province achieves Poppy Free status. This has resulted in provinces not staying
Poppy Free permanently. Liaising, funding and implementation in a particular
province is a resource and time intensive process. The MCN ought to commit itself to a
province and not abandon it once the status is achieved.
Farmers
Incentivize legal crops
MCN needs to figure out how to motivate farmers to dissociate themselves from the
opium ecosystem and opt legal crops? The MCN obviously has to incentivize this by
providing better value proposition to the farmers.
Security
In the current ecosystem, the warlords and extremists provide protection to the farmers
and their families in exchange for cultivating opium. This extortion ensures the
wellbeing of the farmers families. Unless the farmers feel secure about pursuing legal
crops, no amount of incentivizing can persuade them to switch to legal crops. The
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GoIRA ought to provide security to the farmers, their families and on access routes to
markets.
Quality inputs
Afghanistan has a genuine dearth of farm inputs. The opium that the farmers currently
grow is also at the mercy of natural forces. In order to convert farmers to legal crops,
GoIRA will have to provide quality seeds, fertilizers and most importantly irrigation.
Currently, the warlords and extremists are buying opium from the farmers directly at a
high price. It is as if the markets come to the farmers doorsteps. Now, unless the GoIRA
creates markets that value the farmers legal crops at a fair price and provides them
their dues on time, farmers will not get motivated to switch to legal crops.
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References
1. Afghanistans National Development Strategy (ANDS) _ 2008-2013
2. Afghanistans National Drugs Control Strategy (NDCS) _ 2006
3. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) _
Global_Afghan_Opium_Trade_2011-web
4. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) _ Opium Rapid
Assessment Survey_Report_2011_phase_II_20110415
5. Adam Smith International (ASI) Need Assessment Survey _ 2008
6. Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)_Counter Narcotics in
Afghanistan_ the failure of success _ Dec 2008
7. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/afghanistan-pakistan/opiumbrides/afghanistans-opium-profits-soared-in-2011/ accessed June 22, 2012
8. http://www.tradingeconomics.com/afghanistan/agricultural-irrigated-landpercent-of-total-agricultural-land-wb-data.html, Agricultural irrigated land in
Afghanistan, by Trading Economics _ accessed on July 5th 2012
9. http://www.fas.usda.gov/country/afghanistan/us-afghanistan.asp,
Agriculture in Afghanistan, United States Department of Agriculture _ accessed
on July 5th, 2012
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