Iran ready to help Afghan farmers replace poppy cultivation

Talking to IRNA, Assadollah Hadinejad underscored that almost all border areas of Iran-Afghanistan have been blocked to prevent the entry of opium into the country.

He added several measures have been taken so far to prevent the smuggling of opium into Iran from Afghanistan, adding that the negotiations are still underway with Afghan officials to meet that end.

The official stressed that Afghan farmers could replace poppy cultivation with other agricultural products including sesame and corn and sell them to Iran.

He added that the Iranian private sector has also voiced its willingness to cooperate with Afghanistan to replace opium cultivation with other agricultural products.

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Afghanistan’s cultivation of opium poppy for drugs has risen to its third-highest level in more than 20 years.

The total area of land used for poppy cultivation in Afghanistan had risen by 10 percent to 201,000 hectares (497,000 acres) in 2016, UNODC said.

Opium poppy cultivation, a favorite activity of the Taliban, used to be limited to certain parts of Afghanistan; however, the surge in militancy and the government’s loss of grip on security has allowed it to spread to other parts of the country, particularly the north.

http://www.irna.ir/en/News/82430062/