Opium poppy cultivation on the increase in northern provinces



(KPL) The Lao Drugs Control officials said that some of the traditional opium growing farmers living in highland areas of northern provinces returned to opium poppy cultivation.

Drugs Control officer in Luang Namtha and Bokeo provinces told KPL News yesterday that there has been a slight increase in the cultivation of the opium poppy in some northern provinces and they specifically referred to three districts where there has been an appreciable increase, Long and Sing districts of Luang Namtha province and Pha-oudom district of Bokeo province.

Mr Somchai, Head of Drugs Inspection and Control Office in Luang Namtha disclosed on Tuesday that the land area under opium poppy cultivation in Luang Namtha province increased from 47 hectares in 2007 to 70 hectares in 2008 and in a reference to opium addicts he said the number has skyrocketed to 1,895 people.

According to his projection, for this year there would be an increase in the cultivation of the opium poppy because officials had found many opium poppy areas in Sing and Long districts but they could not as yet tally up all their surveys results and findings because they are still on the lookout for new growth areas.

Mr Homviphone Phouthai, Head of Drugs Suppression Office, Luang Namtha province said nearly all the opium poppy cultivators are Akha, Khamu and Hmong tribal people.
Since time immemorial they cultivated the opium poppy by means of the slash and burn agricultural method. Recently, in 2005-6 the government clamped down on the growing of this crop and the suppression was a runaway success so that Laos was declared free of any form of opium poppy cultivation in 2007. In order to assist the former opium poppy cultivators to sustain themselves and their families the state and international organisations got them to grow plain vanilla agricultural crops and to raise livestock. 

Officials who spoke on the basis of anonymity said that providing jobs to the ex-opium poppy cultivators by agencies is not a solution to the problem. Getting them to grow alternative crops such as rubber, eucalyptus and others is again not a solution as they take years to mature and to bear their products and for the cultivators they want ready cash for their daily livelihood.