Afghan opium poppy crop hits record

Afghan opium poppy crop hits record
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune and The Associated Press
Published July 18, 2007

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghanistan's heroin-producing poppy crop set another record this season, despite intensified eradication efforts, the American ambassador said Tuesday.

Ambassador William Wood said preliminary data show that Afghan farmers harvested 457,135 acres of opium poppies this year, up from 407,715 acres last year. The growing industry fuels the Taliban, crime, addiction and government corruption.

Government-led eradication efforts destroyed about 49,420 acres of poppies this year, a "disappointing" outcome, Wood told reporters at his private residence overlooking Kabul.

Wood said he strongly supports forced eradication, alluding to U.S.-led poppy-spraying in Colombia. But he said there is "not yet an international consensus" on the practice.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai last year rejected U.S. offers to spray this year's illicit crop, after Afghans said the herbicide could affect livestock, crops and water -- fears the U.S. calls unfounded.

Afghanistan last year accounted for 92 percent of global opium production, up from 70 percent in 2000 and 52 percent a decade earlier. With the higher yields, global opium production increased 43 percent between 2005 and 2006.