Sunday, April 15, 2012
Kabul (BNA) Based on CM decision, a session was held at the ministry of agriculture, attended by minister of counter drug, US ambassador, representatives from a number of Kabul based embassies, head of USAID and a number of internal and foreign concerned organs discussing Food Zone.
The main target of the session was to discuss the eradication of poppy, providing the ground for alternate crop and encouraging the farmers for legal sustainable agricultural grounds.
The project included public awareness providing alternate crop, influencing the law on reduction of poppy cultivation would cost up to $81 million and expected to implement in some provinces of the country such as Oruzgan, Farah, Kandahar and Badakhshan by ministry of agriculture in close coordination with the ministry of counter-drug and under the supervision of the provincial governors.
The minister of counter drugs, “However, by eradicating poppy field across the said provinces, we perform a legal action, but the effort would highly harm the farmers, so, simultaneously, alternate crop should be provided for those vulnerable farmers in the provinces, where the poppy are expected to be wiped out”.
Calling the implementation of the program very important in growing the farmer’s economy, reduction of demand for poppy cultivation and removal of poverty across the country, the minister of agriculture said.”
By implementation of the program, we are trying our best to prevent the farmers return to cultivation of poppy”.
The program would be implemented in close cooperation with the ministers of counter drugs, water and energy and rehabilitation and rural development and “we simultaneously start implementation of economic and development packages across the said provinces”, he said.
The US ambassador also lauded the program and called effective in ensuring security, encouraging the farmers to adopt a legal agriculture, improvement of the farmer’s economic condition, reduction of poverty, called coordination of the organs concerned, an important step in eradication of poppy and agriculture growth.
The ambassador pledged to provide any cooperation in implementation of Food Zone and other programs run for alternate crop.
