Afghanistan’s illegal poppy trade

LM says international aid is key to solving Afghanistan’s drug problem: there is a strong link between drugs and terrorism and development and security as well. (What legal crops could ever produce the amount of money farmers are able to get from illicit crops like poppy?) For a farmer in Afghanistan, the money that comes from poppies is not more than from rice or other crops because most of the benefit goes to the pockets of traffickers and warlords. (But aren’t the farmers being told that if they stop producing poppies, the warlords will make sure they have a significant price to pay? Are they intimidated?) Yes, but with our security efforts we have helped to provide security to farmers, especially in the eastern parts of the country. (Is that ever going to work in the rest of Afghanistan? Afghanistan is a very daunting place in terms of road construction and development.) Yes, we believe this can work for the rest of the country. in the beginning the main enemy was considered the Taliban and terrorists but now they’re focusing on drugs as well.