Afghan Poppy Crop Up 50 Percent This Year-USDA

USDA Deputy Secretary Jim Moseley, who traveled to Afghanistan last week to review its agricultural development, said the world's leading producer of opium could only hope to turn the tide on poppy production beginning next year. Poppy plants are used to make heroin and morphine.

"We have to understand that we are not going to do anything about it this year in terms of (Afghan poppy) production," Moseley told reporters. "What we have to do is look at what we may be able to do in 2005."

Moseley recommended Afghanistan provide farmers easier access to financing and loans through local banks.

Afghan farmers, which represent 80 percent of the population, must also be presented with better crop alternatives -- such as spices and fruit, Moseley said.

"You've got to get their family income so it is not dependent on growing poppy seeds," he said.

The United Nations estimated Afghan's poppy crop last year at a near-record 3,600 tonnes, more than three-quarters of global supply. Under the USDA's estimate, this year's poppy crop would be about 5,400 tonnes.

Opium production has complicated the task of restoring central government authority in Afghanistan, enabling warlords to run small armies and it gives them an extra financial incentive to retain their autonomy.

"The money is not flowing into the government from poppies," Moseley said. "Some of it ultimately flows into those individuals that use it for terrorist activities."

The Taliban had almost eradicated poppy production in its final year in power.

After the Taliban were ousted by U.S. forces in late 2001, farmers returned to growing opium poppies because they were a more lucrative crop.

During the one week trip, the USDA delegation met with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and several other government ministers.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=4977279