§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the estimated value of the opium economy in Afghanistan in 2003; what initiatives the Government have taken to help reduce the cultivation, processing and trade in drugs during 80WA 2004; and what reduction in the 2003 figure they expect will be achieved in 2004 and 2005 respectively [HL4696]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanThe United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) 2003 Opium Survey assesses the income of Afghan opium farmers and traffickers in 2003 to be some 2.3 billion dollars, equivalent to 50 per cent of Afghanistan's estimated legitimate GDP.
The UK has committed more than £70 million over three years for counternarcotics activity, plus significant development funding and support to develop alternative livelihoods for farmers dependent on opium cultivation. The UK is helping the Afghan Government to build up the institutions which are fundamental to long-term success. In the first year of implementation of the Afghan National Drug Control Strategy, the basic counternarcotics structures have been put in place: drug control legislation, a Counter Narcotics Directorate, the Ministry of Interior's Afghan Special Narcotics Force, the Counter Narcotics Police and a central eradication capability. UNODC will publish its annual survey into the level of opium poppy cultivation and production in Afghanistan later this month. The figures are not yet available.
We are working closely with the Afghan Government and the international community to secure a reduction in cultivation over the next year.