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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
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Results for cannabis (afghanistan)
2 results foundAuthor: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Title: Afghanistan: Survey of Commercial Cannabis Cultivation and Production 2011 Summary: The 2011 Survey of Commercial Cannabis Cultivation and Production estimated the total area under cultivation in 2011 at 12,000 hectares and a potential production of 1,300 tons. These figures only include commercial, mono-crop cannabis cultivation as the survey tool cannot capture small-scale “kitchen garden” cultivation of cannabis, which is often for localized and/or personal use and is only thought to account for a small percentage of total production. Afghanistan’s importance as a producer of cannabis resin does not necessarily mean that it is the principal supplier of the world’s big cannabis resin markets in North Africa, Europe and South-West Asia, but its relative importance may be growing whereas that of Morocco, though still very considerable, may be on the decline. Likewise, seizure data imply that not even all the cannabis resin trafficked in South-West Asia originates in Afghanistan. Signs of both stabilisation and change In 2011, cultivation and production of cannabis resin in Afghanistan appeared stable and there was no evidence of substantive change in comparison to the previous UNODC cannabis surveys of 2009 and 2010. Nevertheless, the number of cannabis-growing households in Afghanistan increased by 38 per cent, from 47,000 in 2010 to 65,000 in 2011, virtually all of whom were sporadic growers who had chosen that year to cultivate cannabis once again, while only a small amount were first-time cannabis growers. Moreover, commercial cannabis resin cultivation has spread to more and more provinces, being cultivated in almost two thirds of them (21 provinces) in 2011 as opposed to in only half (17 out of 34) in 2009. Principal among the numerous contributing factors to the spread of cannabis cultivation in Afghanistan is the fact that the price of cannabis has increased dramatically in the past few years, with best quality resin rising from US$ 35/kg to US$ 95/kg since 2009. UNODC price monitoring shows that the cannabis price rise has developed in parallel with the opium price hike caused by the opium crop failure in 2010, making its per-hectare income similar to that of opium and thus financially very attractive to farmers. But because cannabis cultivation is less labour intensive — less weeding is involved and the extraction of “garda” (powdered cannabis resin) can be done at home in a matter of weeks with the help of family members instead of hired labour — it is actually more cost-effective than opium. Such advantages contribute to the status of cannabis as a lucrative cash crop. Yet the average area cultivated dropped from 0.4 ha (2009) to 0.29 ha (2011), thus although more households grew cannabis in 2011 they actually cultivated a smaller area than previously, while the per-hectare yield also decreased by 25 per cent from its 2009 level, especially for best quality resin. The increase in the number of households cultivating cannabis may mean that there are more, if smaller scale, cannabis growers who benefit from cannabis as a lucrative sideline on an opportunistic basis. Indeed, the majority of farmers interviewed do not grow cannabis every year, some grow every other year and some do so even less frequently. To a certain extent, the cultivation of cannabis in Afghanistan thus appears to be self limiting — but why? Cannabis is a summer crop and the agricultural area available is much reduced in summer. Indeed, in the south, west and east of the country winter/spring cultivation is predominant, which is when most arable land is available. Cannabis needs irrigation water, which decreases with the arrival of summer and is only sufficient for a partial summer crop. Farmers have to balance different requirements, such as the provision of fodder for livestock, and have risk-minimizing strategies, meaning that they always grow some staple crops and hesitate to devote all their available land to just one crop. Cannabis has a long vegetation period lasting into October/November so no winter crop can be planted on a harvested cannabis field, which must then remain fallow, leading to a loss of income and all the subsequent ramifications. certain portion of farmers do not engage in cannabis cultivation at all because it is forbidden in Islam. The same is true for opium, which, while it is grown by many more households, on much more land and to a far greater extent, often co-exists with cannabis in Afghanistan. For example, commercial cannabis cultivation has shifted over the past half decade from the north to the more insecure south of the country and its cultivation is geographically associated with that of opium. Most cannabis-cultivating provinces also produced poppy in 2011 (15 out of 21 provinces), with the increase in cannabis-cultivating provinces since 2009 mainly being due to poppy provinces commencing commercial cannabis cultivation, to the extent that all major poppy-cultivating provinces also contained cannabis cultivation, while provinces free of poppy and cannabis continued to remain so. Furthermore, to a large extent those involved in cannabis and opium cultivation are actually the same people, even if opium growing households do not grow cannabis every year: in 2011, a large majority of cannabis farmers in Afghanistan (58%) also grew poppy, but only 6% of poppy farmers grew cannabis in that year. Moreover, many opium traffickers also trade in cannabis resin and there seems to be a striking correlation between opium and cannabis farm-gate prices, suggesting a considerable degree of market integration. Another of the principal similarities between poppy and commercial cannabis cultivation is that households growing illicit crops have a much smaller share of remittances than non-growing households, meaning that one or more members of the household works abroad. Cannabis-growing households often do not have to send members abroad as they can earn the necessary cash component by growing cannabis. A similar pattern exists for poppy-growing households. However, there are also some important differences between opium and cannabis production. For example, cannabis garda quality reportedly deteriorates after a couple of months so most farmers sell the complete harvest before that happens (represented by the strong post-harvest dip in prices in the months of January to March). Processing garda into hashish can increase storability but the process is time consuming and adds little value for farmers, who already make a tidy profit by producing garda. Opium, on the other hand, can be stored for years without losing quality, and can be used as a store of value (effectively a bank account), while cannabis, though undoubtedly an attractive cash crop, cannot. The future Another important difference between cannabis and poppy is that there is increasing Government pressure to eradicate poppy cultivation in Afghanistan whereas eradication of cannabis is not underpinned by systematic programmes for eradication and alternative development, nor by the support of financial donors. In addition, the associated lower cost of cannabis cultivation in comparison to poppy cultivation (estimated at 10% and 40% of gross income, respectively) makes it more profitable than opium. The possibility of the commercial production of cannabis gradually playing a much bigger role in the illicit Afghan economy, and eventually replacing opium, is unlikely, but still possible. The huge disparity between the current size of areas under cultivation of the two drugs means that ― even if that were possible ― it would not happen in the short term, while the aforementioned environmental and agricultural limitations of cannabis cultivation would make it difficult. But shedding light on price trend coincidence between opium and cannabis farm-gate prices, cannabis trafficking and export, and cannabis cultivation in neighbouring countries would certainly help understand the future of commercial cannabis cultivation in Afghanistan. Any policy aimed at reducing cannabis production in Afghanistan should, however, take into account the links between the two illicit crops and that there is a large pool of sporadic commercial cannabis farmers who may be prepared to cultivate cannabis more frequently should farm-gate prices remain high. The challenge to policymakers is to understand the decision-making process at the household level regarding the sporadic nature of cannabis cultivation and to develop strategies accordingly. Details: Vienna, UNODC, 2012. 49p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 24, 2012 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/crop-monitoring/Afghanistan/2011_Afghanistan_Cannabis_Survey_Report_w_cover_small.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Afghanistan URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/crop-monitoring/Afghanistan/2011_Afghanistan_Cannabis_Survey_Report_w_cover_small.pdf Shelf Number: 126985 Keywords: Cannabis (Afghanistan)Drugs and CrimeMarijuana |
Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Title: Afghanistan: Survey of Commercial Cannabis Cultivation and Production 2012 Summary: The 2012 Survey of Commercial Cannabis Cultivation and Production estimated the total area under cultivation in 2012 at 10,000 hectares and a potential production of 1,400 tons. These figures only include commercial, mono-crop cannabis cultivation as the survey tool cannot capture small-scale "kitchen garden" cultivation of cannabis, which is often for localized and/or personal use and is thought to account for only a small percentage of total production. - In contrast to previous surveys, the 2012 survey consisted of only two instead of three components: an area survey using satellite imagery and a yield survey. There was no socioeconomic village survey and the survey area was reduced. - In 2012, the estimated area under commercial cannabis cultivation declined by 17% compared to 2011; however, the area covered by the survey was reduced compared to 2011, which reduces the comparability of the two area estimates. - Due to higher per-hectare yields, production increased by 8% compared to 2011. - The decrease in cultivation is mainly attributed to lower levels of cannabis cultivation in Uruzgan province. The area under cannabis cultivation in Uruzgan decreased drastically from more than 1,000 hectares in 2011 to less than 100 hectares in 2012. According to reports from the field, the reason for the reduction was a strictly enforced ban by provincial authorities, which was imposed because cannabis fields seemed to have been used by insurgent groups as hiding places. - In the remaining 15 provinces surveyed, no major changes in cannabis cultivation were observed in 2012 and the 2012 levels of cultivation in these provinces are considered to be stable compared to 2011. - The main reason for the increase in potential production in spite of a decline in cultivation is the better yield of cannabis garda compared to 2011. In 2012, the national average of garda yield (all qualities) was 136 kg/ha, an increase by 21% when compared to 2011 (112 kg/ha). Levels of cannabis garda yield are nearly as high as they have been in 2009 (145 kg/ha). - The MCN/UNODC price monitoring showed that the cannabis prices have declined in 2012 after a price hike in 2011, in parallel to the opium price trends. Despite this, cannabis cultivation is still financially very attractive. In 2012, farmers potentially achieved a gross income of US$ 6,400 per hectare from cannabis resin, which was higher than the gross income from opium (US$ 4,600 per hectare) in the same year. Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2013. 30p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 25, 2014 at: https://www.unodc.org/documents/crop-monitoring/Afghanistan/_Afghanistan_Cannabis_Survey_Report_2012.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Afghanistan URL: https://www.unodc.org/documents/crop-monitoring/Afghanistan/_Afghanistan_Cannabis_Survey_Report_2012.pdf Shelf Number: 129922 Keywords: Cannabis (Afghanistan)Drugs and CrimeMarijuana |