Afghanistan. The Opium Ban: The impact on small farmers, sharecroppers and labourers in Helmand province
Afghanistan. The Opium Ban: The impact on small farmers, sharecroppers and labourers in Helmand province
In what used to be Afghanistan’s largest poppy-growing province, Helmand, cultivation plummeted by 99 per cent in 2023 following the Islamic Emirate’s ban on the crop in April 2022. Although opium trading largely continued, which brought windfall profits to anyone with opium stocks to sell, the ban on cultivation has caused unemployment and an economic crisis among many small farmers, labourers, and small business owners who depended on farmers spending money. AAN’s Ali Mohammad Sabawoon and Jelena Bjelica have been hearing from men in the Marja, Nad Ali, Greshk and Musa Qala districts of Helmand who have lost work and are now struggling to make ends meet. Many said they have sent men in the family abroad to try to find work. (Afghanistan Analysts Network, Deutschland, 14.03.2024)
https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/economy-development-environment/opium-ban-how-has-it-impacted-landless-and-labourers-in-helmand-province/