Afghan province begins push to discourage poppy cultivation

Girgijen Labarai July 28, 2018

Author:

daniel fountain

article author:

ID:

1532784148586285900

Sat, 2018-07-28 16:14

KABUL: Helmand has long been the major narcotics-producing province in Afghanistan due to protracted war and chronic poverty.
Most of the income from the multi-billion-dollar trade ends up in the pockets of dealers and the mafia, rather than helping poor communities and farmers economically.
So authorities and locals have begun a drive to replace opium poppies with trees such as pistachio, citrus and date, which have markets at home and in the region.