LAO NATIONAL COMMISSION ON DRUG CONTROL AND SUPERVISION Annual Opium Poppy Survey 1999/2000 With the support of UNDCP – Laos and the Illicit Crops Monitoring Programme. Vientiane, October 2000 Table of contents Summary.......................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 4 I. The 2000 National Opium Survey............................................................................. 5 Objectives..................................................................................................................... 5 Methodology................................................................................................................. 5 The Baseline............................................................................................................. 5 The Random Sample................................................................................................ 5 The Interviews and Field Measurement.................................................................... 6 The opium growing farmers interview ....................................................................... 6 The field measurement ............................................................................................. 6 Organisation and Staff.................................................................................................. 7 Training ........................................................................................................................ 9 Survey constraints........................................................................................................ 9 Data processing ........................................................................................................... 9 II. Survey findings ....................................................................................................... 10 Provincial Poppy Cultivation....................................................................................... 10 District Poppy Cultivation ........................................................................................... 14 Location of Poppy Cultivation..................................................................................... 16 Yield ........................................................................................................................... 17 Production .................................................................................................................. 19 Comparison of the 1992, 1996, 1998 and 2000 results.............................................. 20 Opium Prices.............................................................................................................. 21 Addiction .................................................................................................................... 22 Field Damage ............................................................................................................. 25 Annexes:........................................................................................................................ 26 Annex 1 :The Baseline questionnaire......................................................................... 26 Annex 2 Number of villages surveyed by district........................................................ 27 Annex 3 The village survey questionnaires................................................................ 28 Annex 4 The field measurement method.................................................................... 29 Annex 5 The yield estimate........................................................................................ 30 Annex 6 List of Supervisors........................................................................................ 31 Annex 7 Training Schedule. ....................................................................................... 32 Annex 8 Estimation by District.................................................................................... 34 Annex 9 Map of Opium Poppy Cultivation by District. ................................................ 35 Annex 10Map of Villages Cultivating Opium Poppy. .................................................. 36 Annex 112000 Opium Farm Gate Price. .................................................................... 37 Annex 12Addiction by District..................................................................................... 38 Lao Annual Opium Poppy Survey 2000 Page 2 Summary The Lao National Commission on Drug Control and Supervision, jointly with UNDCP, conducted opium poppy survey in 1992, 1996, 1998 and 2000. The surveys are primarily a monitoring tool and aim to provide information on the extent of cultivation of opium poppy, the production of its derivative, the opium gum, and its addiction in the country. The surveys provide a resource that contributes to planning and resource allocation. Like the previous survey, the survey covering the 1999-2000 opium season was based on a sampling methodology. The baseline data were established in collaboration with the district authorities and then a sample of villages was surveyed. At the village level, the surveyors interviewed the village headman and opium poppy farmers. The surveyors physically measured a sample of opium poppy fields. In 2000, 391 villages were surveyed out of the 6,404 villages of the 11 provinces of northern Laos. Main Findings of the 2000 Opium Survey Cultivation Nationally, the survey estimated that there were 19,052 hectares of opium poppy under cultivation in the 1999-2000 season. This represented a reduction in total opium poppy area of nearly 30% compared with the 1998 estimate of 26,800 ha. The survey confirmed that opium poppy cultivation mainly took place in the 6 provinces targeted by the Opium Elimination Programme. The cultivation in these 6 provinces accounted for 93 % of the total area under cultivation. In every district where alternative development projects are being implemented, a significant decrease was noticeable. Yield and Production The national yield was estimated at 8.7 kg/ha with important provincial variations. The total production ranged at about 167 tons of raw opium. Opium Addiction The estimate for opium addiction indicated similar pattern then previous survey. The total number of opium addicts was estimated at 62,895 persons, against 63,248 persons in 1998. At the national level, this represented 2.26% of the population above 15 years old. In the northern provinces alone, the rate was 4.84% of the population above 15 years old. Opium Prices. At the country level, the farm gate price of opium was estimated at 695,257 KIP/kg (or 92 USD/kg), but with important provincial variations. The 1998 survey estimated the price of one kilo of raw opium at 65 USD. Lao Annual Opium Poppy Survey 2000 Page 3 Introduction The first comprehensive survey to produce national estimate took place only in 1992. This survey was jointly undertaken by the Government of Lao PDR and UNDCP. The survey was based on a inventory of all known opium-producing villages and data from a sample of opium producing villages. Similar surveys were conducted in 1996 and 1998. The information provided by the surveys constituted an invaluable tool for planning activities to tackle the supply and demand sides of opium use. In particular, the in-depth survey carried out in 1998 was used in the selection of the programme area of the “Balance Approach to Opium Elimination in Lao PDR”. The 2000 survey, providing estimates for the 1999-2000 opium growing season, followed the methodology used in the previous surveys, but introduced the use of new technology instruments such as GPS during the field work and Geographical Information System for mapping the results. This survey was conducted by the Lao National Commission on Drug Control and Supervision (LCDC), in close collaboration with the provincial and district authorities. In particular, the newly established provincial drug control committees directly participated to the survey. The National Statistics Center provided methodological guidance, tools and staff from survey inception to analysis. The UNDCP provided financial and technical support. Lao Annual Opium Poppy Survey 2000 Page 4 I. The 2000 National Opium Survey Objectives The main objective of the survey was to provide information on the extent of area planted with opium poppy and its location. The secondary objectives were to provide information regarding the yield, from which the production was estimated, the farm gate price of opium and the addiction rate. The information provided by the previous surveys and the present one, constitute a unique and rich picture of the opium producing region and its people. It is a good basis for planning and monitoring and is used in the selection of the Programme area of the “Balanced Approach to Opium Elimination in Lao PDR”. Methodology The 2000 survey, like the 1992, 1996 and 1998 surveys, was ground based and carried out in a sample of villages in the 10 northern provinces of Lao PDR and the Saysomboun Special Region. As there is no evidence of opium cultivation in the southern provinces of the country, these provinces are not covered by the opium surveys. Only a random sample of villages was surveyed. This required as an initial step the building of a baseline (or a population) from which the sample