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| Afghan Elections Cited as Factor in Record Levels of Opium Production | Afghan Elections Cited as Factor in Record Levels of Opium Production |
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| KABUL, Afghanistan — Opium cultivation and production in Afghanistan reached record levels this year, United Nations officials said Wednesday, attributing at least part of the increase to politicians’ need for campaign cash during the country’s protracted election season. | |
| “With the presidential election ongoing, there was a huge demand of funding and that funding is not available in the licit economy,” said Jean-Luc Lemahieu, a senior official with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. “That money has to come from somewhere, so they turned to the illicit economy.” | “With the presidential election ongoing, there was a huge demand of funding and that funding is not available in the licit economy,” said Jean-Luc Lemahieu, a senior official with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. “That money has to come from somewhere, so they turned to the illicit economy.” |
| The United Nations agency and the Afghan Ministry of Counternarcotics on Wednesday released the results of their annual survey on opium, showing that cultivation was up by 7 percent this year compared with 2013. Production increased as much as 17 percent, even though worldwide demand for Afghan opium had stagnated and prices paid to the country’s opium farmers had dropped. | The United Nations agency and the Afghan Ministry of Counternarcotics on Wednesday released the results of their annual survey on opium, showing that cultivation was up by 7 percent this year compared with 2013. Production increased as much as 17 percent, even though worldwide demand for Afghan opium had stagnated and prices paid to the country’s opium farmers had dropped. |
| The opium harvest ends in the spring or early summer of each year, depending on latitude and elevation. | The opium harvest ends in the spring or early summer of each year, depending on latitude and elevation. |
| The new highs this year were particularly worrisome, the agencies said, because in 2013, opium cultivation was up 49 percent over the previous year, reaching its highest levels since the fall of the Taliban. | The new highs this year were particularly worrisome, the agencies said, because in 2013, opium cultivation was up 49 percent over the previous year, reaching its highest levels since the fall of the Taliban. |
| The Taliban in the late 1990s was the only Afghan government to completely eradicate opium cultivation, but the militants now both tax and actively participate in the drug’s production. | The Taliban in the late 1990s was the only Afghan government to completely eradicate opium cultivation, but the militants now both tax and actively participate in the drug’s production. |
| This year, opium production was partly driven by politicians’ increased demand for campaign cash for presidential and provincial elections, the report said. The elections, which lasted eight months with two rounds of voting and a dispute over the results, were also said to divert police and military resources away from the eradication of opium crops. | This year, opium production was partly driven by politicians’ increased demand for campaign cash for presidential and provincial elections, the report said. The elections, which lasted eight months with two rounds of voting and a dispute over the results, were also said to divert police and military resources away from the eradication of opium crops. |
| Crop eradication was down by 63 percent this year, compared with last year, the report said, and decreased in nearly all provinces where eradication efforts were underway. Such programs are led by provincial governors, who are political appointees of the president. | Crop eradication was down by 63 percent this year, compared with last year, the report said, and decreased in nearly all provinces where eradication efforts were underway. Such programs are led by provincial governors, who are political appointees of the president. |
| Andrey Avetisyan, the head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Afghanistan and a former Russian ambassador to the country, said that United Nations officials had met with the new president, Ashraf Ghani, and were encouraged by his concern about the opium problem. “He understood well that drug trafficking suffocates the normal economic development,” Mr. Avetisyan said. “We are quite optimistic.” | Andrey Avetisyan, the head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Afghanistan and a former Russian ambassador to the country, said that United Nations officials had met with the new president, Ashraf Ghani, and were encouraged by his concern about the opium problem. “He understood well that drug trafficking suffocates the normal economic development,” Mr. Avetisyan said. “We are quite optimistic.” |
| “Ashraf Ghani is not a magician but at least Ashraf Ghani said all the right words, with a lot of passion,” he said. | “Ashraf Ghani is not a magician but at least Ashraf Ghani said all the right words, with a lot of passion,” he said. |
| The opium-trafficking business has been estimated to be one-fifth the size of Afghanistan’s legitimate gross domestic product. With world demand no longer rising, a growing domestic market for opiates has seen drug addiction in Afghanistan escalate dramatically, with an estimated 1.5 million drug abusers in a country of 30 million people, United Nations officials have said. | The opium-trafficking business has been estimated to be one-fifth the size of Afghanistan’s legitimate gross domestic product. With world demand no longer rising, a growing domestic market for opiates has seen drug addiction in Afghanistan escalate dramatically, with an estimated 1.5 million drug abusers in a country of 30 million people, United Nations officials have said. |