Afghan farmers continue to supply the world with opium

There are few alternatives for farmers like Mustafa. He speaks on his land with an Afghan camera team that works on behalf of the NOS. “We are poor and have to grow poppies,” he says. According to him, there are no other crops with which he can earn as much and which could grow on his dry land.

Poppy needs little water, just like tobacco, which grows on a different part of its land and has a different growing season. “If they suddenly banned it, it would cost us a lot. There isn’t enough water for most other crops, and we would lose money.”

According to local media, Taliban fighters met with villagers in August to prepare them for a ban. Mustafa heard about this in the media, but did not receive a visit himself. In September, the new governor of Helmand, Abdul Ahad, also known as Talib Mawlawi, expressed more hope for farmers. “We know this is the hub of narcotics, but families depend on it,” he told The Times. “We’ve talked to farmers and told them they can continue to grow the crop, and we’ll see what the central government says in the future.”

Sensitive topic

Local Taliban leaders were willing to give an interview to the NOS camera team on the subject, but the necessary permission to do so was ultimately not signed by the authorities in Kabul. The subject is sensitive, at least as long as there is no clear policy and legislation.

While a ban on drug trafficking would ideologically suit the Taliban, the question is whether the regime can do without the revenues – especially for as long as international assets are frozen. A ban would also cost the Taliban supporters. Many farmers like Mustafa support the Taliban precisely because they have suffered greatly from the years of conflict between the Taliban and the Afghan army, supported by NATO troops. Violent house searches and air raids also occurred in his village. “Our fields were destroyed,” he says of the war. He is happy with the new regime, he says.

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