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2008-05-13 Afghanistan
Afghan farmers swap poppies for wheat as food prices soar
Afghan farmers hope to capitalise on soaring food costs by growing wheat instead of poppy crops, with the fall in heroin prices further fuelling the switch.

The price of a tonne of wheat in Afghanistan has almost trebled this year, causing acute food shortages. A changeover of crops has begun in key agricultural regions, said Tekeste Tekie, country representative for the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation. He said a significant increase in wheat crops is expected from next year's harvest. "The high price of commodities has encouraged farmers to switch from poppy cultivation to wheat. In fact, we are already seeing evidence of this happening, for instance in the Bamian region, where some farmers have planted half wheat and half poppy crops," Tekie said.

The growing season runs from November to June in Afghanistan. If wheat prices stay near their current level, supported by regional subsidies, an Afghan farmer can make up to a third more on wheat than poppy by next year's harvest, according to figures from the Ministry of Agriculture.

Haji Dawood, a farmer who used to cultivate poppy but now farms wheat in the Daman district, near Kandahar in the south, said his family had benefited from the wheat boom. "It's the first time since I planted wheat that I can afford to feed my family ... it's going well because the price of opium has come down, and the price for my wheat has gone up. Each new season we get more money from the crop than from the previous one," he said.

Mir Dad Panjsheri, the chief adviser to the Ministry of Agriculture, said some regions from the south may be off limits because of instability. "We expect a more than 30% increase in wheat crops next year in places like Kunduz, Baghlam and Faryab. But the Taliban stronghold areas remain [key locations] for poppy farming ... most farmers there are afraid to start planting wheat yet," he said. Panjsheri said farmers may be put off by difficulties in getting their crops to market. "Some roads are dangerous, not just because of the Taliban, but there are other problems like bandits, who may try to rob your money on your way back from the market. The Taliban can offer protection if you are selling poppies," he said.
Posted by trailing wife  2008-05-13 12:42|| || Front Page|| [11136 views ]  Top

#1 silver lining alert
Posted by liberalhawk 2008-05-13 14:05||   2008-05-13 14:05|| Front Page Top

#2 Capitalists at heart.
Posted by DarthVader">DarthVader  2008-05-13 14:09||   2008-05-13 14:09|| Front Page Top

#3 Good. Encourage others to do the same. Perhaps we could buy some of the excess wheat crop there for our aid programs in the region?

Encourage a market and protect the people who are trying to live decently.
Posted by Steve White">Steve White  2008-05-13 14:27||   2008-05-13 14:27|| Front Page Top

#4 Can you grow Sawgrass in that area? They could make ethanol.
Posted by DarthVader">DarthVader  2008-05-13 14:29||   2008-05-13 14:29|| Front Page Top

#5 Nah, they can't make ethanol, someone might drink it.
Posted by Jitch, Scourge of the Veal Cutlets 2008-05-13 14:54||   2008-05-13 14:54|| Front Page Top

#6 hybrid wheat / poppies: watch the kiddies hang around the toaster sucking in the smoke when they have the darkness selector set to 'char'
Posted by USN, Ret. 2008-05-13 15:04||   2008-05-13 15:04|| Front Page Top

#7 I call Bullshit, Wheat cannot come anywhere near the profit from Opium.

Souns like a "Don't kill us" propaganda release, stalling for time until the crop's harvested, then plant something as "Cover" (In both meanings of the word).
Posted by Redneck Jim">Redneck Jim  2008-05-13 15:16||   2008-05-13 15:16|| Front Page Top

#8 RJ, it's not the farmers that make opium (majority of them don't--some mayhaps do, but it is a risky biz and just harvesting poppies is safer). The price for the crop alone may not be as great as you think, so the wheat may be a resonable alternative.
Posted by twobyfour 2008-05-13 15:30||   2008-05-13 15:30|| Front Page Top

#9 Wheat is more profitable since you don't have to pay the Taliban tax on it {upwards of 30% of the value of the opium crop}, you can get FREE wheat seed through a couple of the crop conversion programs, and there is a crop conversion program that will help with fertilizer and soil improvement.
Posted by Shieldwolf 2008-05-13 16:09||   2008-05-13 16:09|| Front Page Top

#10 If wheat is so great, then why don't the Taliban grow it themselves?

What is to stop the Taliban from collecting a "tax" on any crop, including wheat?

Can poppies be grown in depleted soil? Does growing wheat cost more than growing poppies? Can they alternate wheat and poppies and not have to let the soil regenerate every so often?
Posted by gorb 2008-05-13 16:17||   2008-05-13 16:17|| Front Page Top

#11 Iff one believes that the WOT > WAR FOR MACKINDER'S WORLD ISLAND, + that OWG Free Trade/Econ Zones are being quietly established as we speak, PERHAPS ITS TIME TO CONSIDER LEGALLY TRANSFORMING + INCORPORATING WORLD DRUG PRODUCTION ENCLAVES INTO "LEGAL/OVERT" OWG ZONES FOR THE DEV AND MFG OF PHARMACEUTICAL DRUGS = DRUG/MEDICAL RESEARCH???

Afghanistan will need massive amounts of foreign investment in order to suppor any plans or schemas as per POST-WOT? "NATION-BUILDING" + espec "GLOBALISM". IMO, the US Govt. is covertly well-aware of this option [1980's] since the destruction of the these drug crops is not a priority.
Posted by JosephMendiola 2008-05-13 18:33||   2008-05-13 18:33|| Front Page Top

#12 Actually, prior to the Soviet invasion, Afghanistan was a major food grower and exporter in the region.
Posted by OldSpook 2008-05-13 21:06||   2008-05-13 21:06|| Front Page Top

#13 Gorb, much of the Taliban today is reconstituted drug gangs that are claiming "Taliban" so that they can operate in certain tribal zones. And no, they don't do a wheat tax for the simple reason that the European drug cartels that are paying their bills, won't put out money for extorting grain farmers. The Euro cartels WANT opium, pure and simple. Anything else, and Abdullah might find himself going feet first into a woodchipper. Also, once the wheat crop comes into an area and the security situation starts to stabilize, the Taliban get turned in more and more often by the locals.
Posted by Shieldwolf 2008-05-13 22:09||   2008-05-13 22:09|| Front Page Top

#14 Then the Taliban are about to evaporate to avoid becoming so much chipped beef or opium is going to have to get way more expensive.
Posted by gorb 2008-05-13 23:52||   2008-05-13 23:52|| Front Page Top

01:46 Grom the Affective
01:33 Besoeker
01:22 Besoeker
00:59 Besoeker
00:48 Besoeker
00:40 Frank G









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