In Afghan Fields, a Challenge to Opium’s Luster

Afghan farmers harvested wheat in Helmand Province last week. The United States is trying to persuade farmers to get out of the opium business and grow other crops.

By C. J. CHIVERS
NYT

COMBAT OUTPOST HANSON, Afghanistan — The annual Afghan opium harvest finished this month with production sharply down from last year, Afghan farmers and American military officers say. Now, growers and smugglers who had long been unchallenged here face tough choices created by the poor crop and new government and military pressure.

They describe an industry approaching a crossroads.

As farmers around Marja, the heart of Afghanistan’s opium industry, confront harsh environmental conditions and new interdiction efforts, they are also receiving offers of aid in exchange for growing different crops. Both they and the military said that the start of a shift to other sources of income could be possible by the end of this year, when poppy planting would resume.

That result is a major aim of the American effort. It is also far from sure. The possibilities for crop transition are uncertain and are undermined by persistent fighting and the limited Afghan government presence. This year’s decline in production has also nudged up opium prices, providing an incentive for farmers to consider gambling on future cultivation.

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