1305E Opium in Balkh and Badakhshan CS May 2013.Indd
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A Little Bit Poppy-freeppy and a Little Bit Eradicated: Opium poppy cultivation in Balkh and Badakhshan Provinces in 2011-2012 Paul Fishstein August 2011 European Commission Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit Case Study Series A Little Bit Poppy-free and a Little Bit Eradicated: Opium poppy cultivation in Balkh and Badakhshan Provinces in 2011-2012 Paul Fishstein Funding for this research was provided by the May 2013 European Commission 2013 Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit Editing and Layout: Sradda Thapa Cover Photography: River and flooded agricultural land, Balkh Province, May 2012 (by Organisation for Sustainable Development and Research). AREU Publication Code: 1305E © 2013 Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit. Some rights reserved. This publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted only for non-commercial purposes and with written credit to AREU and the author. Where this publication is reproduced, stored or transmitted electronically, a link to AREU’s website (www.areu.org.af) should be provided. Any use of this publication falling outside of these permissions requires prior written permission of the publisher, the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit. Permission can be sought by emailing [email protected] or by calling +93 (0) 799 608 548. All geospatial imagery and photographs in this report were produced by Alcis Ltd or OSDR who retain ownership of these images. iv Fishstein Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit 2013 About the Author Paul Fishstein (MS, Agricultural and Resource Economics) is a former director of the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit whose Afghanistan experience goes back to 1977. He is currently a Visiting Fellow at the Feinstein International Center at Tufts University (US). About the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit The Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) is an independent research institute based in Kabul. AREU’s mission is to inform and influence policy and practice through conducting high- quality, policy-relevant research and actively disseminating the results, and to promote a culture of research and learning. To achieve its mission AREU engages with policymakers, civil society, researchers and students to promote their use of AREU’s research and its library, to strengthen their research capacity, and to create opportunities for analysis, reflection, and debate. AREU was established in 2002 by the assistance community working in Afghanistan and has a board of directors with representation from the donor community, the United Nations and other multilateral agencies, and non-governmental organisations. AREU currently receives core funds from the Embassy of Finland, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency(SIDA), and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation(SDC). Specific projects in 2013 are currently being funded by the European Commission (EC), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Women, as well the Embassy of Finland. Acknowledgements The author wishes to thank Bill Byrd, Anthony Fitzherbert, and David Mansfield for their insightful review of a draft version of this paper. He wishes also to thank David Mansfield for review of and input on earlier drafts and analysis, to the field and office staff at the Organisation for Sustainable Development and Research who conducted the fieldwork and provided analysis and insights, and to Richard Brittan and Dilip Waugh at Alcis Ltd., for production of the maps. Appreciation is also given to the staff at Aga Khan Development Network in Faizabad, who provided accommodation as well as insights on Badakhshan. Paul Fishstein March 2013 A Little Bit Poppy-free and a Little Bit Eradicated v 2013 Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit Table of Contents Acronyms .......................................................................................................... viii Glossary ........................................................................................................... viii Executive Summary .................................................................................................1 1. Introduction ................................................................................................3 1.1 Background ..............................................................................................3 Purpose and rationale ..................................................................................3 Previous work and analysis .............................................................................3 2. Methodology ................................................................................................5 2.1 Description of methodology ...........................................................................5 2.2 Caveats ...................................................................................................5 3. Opium poppy cultivation in 2011-12 ...................................................................7 3.1 National outlook, with regional/provincial trends .................................................7 3.2 History of cultivation in Balkh and Badakhshan ....................................................8 “Poppy-free” Balkh ......................................................................................8 Fluctuating Badakhshan ................................................................................9 3.3 In place of poppy ...................................................................................... 10 3.4 Policy and programme issues looking forward .................................................... 11 4. Provincial context ..................................................................................... 13 4.1 Balkh Province ........................................................................................ 13 Economy ................................................................................................ 13 People and society .................................................................................... 14 Politics and history .................................................................................... 15 4.2 Badakhshan Province .................................................................................17 People and land ........................................................................................17 Agriculture and economic activity .................................................................. 18 History and politics ....................................................................................20 4.3 Conclusion ..............................................................................................23 5. Analysis of situation in surveyed areas ..............................................................24 5.1 Balkh fi eldwork areas ................................................................................. 24 Water woes ............................................................................................. 24 Improved security in some areas, at least for now ...............................................25 Improvements on meagre development work .....................................................26 5.2 Badakhshan fi eldwork areas ...........................................................................27 Water and the winter ................................................................................. 27 Building on one-season farming ..................................................................... 28 5.3 Household assets and livelihoods choices .......................................................... 28 Land ownership and access ......................................................................... 28 Household incomes .................................................................................... 30 Farm income and cropping choices .................................................................30 Animal husbandry .....................................................................................33 Off-farm work and migration: Today and the “good old days” ................................33 Household debt and sales of assets................................................................. 38 5.4 To grow or not to grow ..................................................................................39 Balkh......................................................................................................39 Badakhshan ............................................................................................. 41 5.5 Eradication................................................................................................ 42 Government assistance in transition to licit livelihoods .........................................44 6. Summary and conclusions .............................................................................46 6.1 Looking forward .......................................................................................48 Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit 2013 Appendices ......................................................................................................... 49 Appendix 1: Opium cultivation (2006-2012) and eradication (2011-2012) in Afghanistan ........... 49 Appendix 2: Map 1: Balkh Province .........................................................................