§ 28. Mr. MudieTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the change in levels of poppy farming since the overthrow of the Taliban regime. [77190]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe UK contributes funds to the opium poppy survey in Afghanistan conducted by the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention. It reported on 25 October that poppy cultivation in 2002 was 74,000 hectares. This is more than in 2001, but significantly less than the record level in 1999 when 91,583 hectares were cultivated.