About Badakhshan
Badakhshan is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, consisting of 28 districts. It is located in the northeast part of the country, between the Hindu Kush and the Amu Darya.
Badakhshan is primarily bordered by Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province and Khatlon Province in Tajikistan to the north and east. In the east of the province a long spur called the Wakhan Corridor extends above northern Pakistan's Chitral and Northern Areas to a border with China. The province has a total area of 44,059 km², which is mostly occupied by the Hindu Kush and Pamir mountain ranges.
Economy
Opium poppy growing is the only real source of income in the province. Lapis lazuli has been mined in the Sar-e-Sang district in Badakhshan for many centuries and was the largest and most well-known source in ancient times. Recent geological surveys have indicated the location of other gemstone deposits, in particular rubies and emeralds. Exploitation of this mineral wealth could be key to the region's prosperity.
Fayzabad, the capital of Badakhshan, sits on the Kokcha River and has an approximate population of 50,000. The chief commercial and administrative center of NE Afghanistan and the Pamir region, Fayzabad also has rice and flour mills. In winter the city is sometimes isolated by deep snow.
Demographics
The population of this province is estimated at 823,000 people. The majority of them are Persian-speaking Tajiks. The following Pamiri languages are spoken in Badakhshan by certain populations of Tajiks as well: Shughni, Munji, Ishkashimi, Wakhi, small Kyrgyz minorities, nomadic and semi-nomadic Uzbeks and Pashtuns, who migrate over long distances.
The residents of the province are largely Sunni, but many of the Tajiks who are speakers of one of the Pamiri languages in the northeastern districts of the province are Ismaili.
About Projection
This is an assessment launched in 3 district of Badakhshan provinces, one of north-east provinces of Afghanistan; where opium is cultivated in the past and it is ongoing right now. These 3 districts selected to be sample for others that are land of opium- poppy in Afghanistan.
Methodology
This document is based on a report prepared for UNODC by Group of URD in December 2007 and January 2008. The report provides in-depth qualitative analysis which is supported by data collected in Khash, Kishim and Shar-e Buzurg districts of Badakhshan province as described in Section 2 below. The analysis is not statistically rigorous, but is designed to provide an overview of the current situation of former opium poppy-growing households in Badakhshan.
Target Audience
The priority needs of the target groups in the three sampled districts were identified through combining qualitative and quantitative approaches, including:
• Key informants at provincial, district and sub-district
• Meetings and focus group discussions with village elders and/or CDCs, supported by direct field observations
• Household interviews (214) using structured questionnaires, with both men and women
• Household case studies (16) using a more qualitative approach
Within each district, three villages were sampled to illustrate different livelihoods systems using the following criteria: landscape position, access to market, opium poppy cultivation (history and current level) and outside intervention. Within each site, households representing various socio-economic groups were interviewed to capture different livelihood constraints and opportunities and the varying levels of dependency on opium poppy cultivation.
Target areas
Khash district which is in the central part of Badakhshan consists of 11 villages lying in two highland valleys, characterized by a relative scarcity of both irrigated and rainfed land. There is a long tradition of opium poppy cultivation. According to UNODC’s Opium Survey in 2007, the Khash valley is the major area of opium production in Badakhshan. Opium poppy cultivation plays a crucial role in the livelihoods of Khash people, particularly in their food security strategies. There is no central bazaar in Khash, but only a few shops in Sharhan village. The dominant opium-based barter economy explains the limited cash flow in the area.
Kishim district centre, on the western border with Takhar province, is in a key position on the trade route to Faizabad. The central bazaar is relatively developed and is reasonably easy to access. Although Kishim is one of the richest agricultural districts of Badakhshan, there are substantial disparities within the district, from both the socio-economic and geographic points of view. In addition to unequal access to land and other productive assets, there are several pockets of poverty in the more isolated parts of the district. In 2000 – 2001, Kishim district was a major opium poppy production area. Since then, the district has achieved one of the largest reductions in opium poppy cultivation in the province.
Shar-e Buzurg district, is located in the northwest of the province, and has borders with Takhar province as well as Tajikistan. It is mountainous, with a few narrow and rocky valleys like other remote districts in Badakhshan, and it is characterized by poorly functioned markets and mostly rainfed arable land. The level of grain self-sufficiency is extremely low and, with the rise in wheat prices, the food security situation is likely to become more critical. Although Shar-e Buzurg is not a major opium poppy production area, opium appears to be entrenched in the local economy through heroin production and trafficking.
Objectives
The objective of the study was to investigate livelihood strategies and dynamics and to identify the immediate priority needs of farmers formerly engaged or at risk of reengaging in opium poppy cultivation in order to inform interventions designed to address these needs. The study was also intended to serve as a baseline against which to assess the impact of such licit development interventions.
Key finding
The characteristics of Badakhshan and the three surveyed districts are:
• Badakhshan Province: Remote, food insecure, limited arable land, harsh climate, high altitude and long tradition of opium poppy cultivation.
• Khash District: above 2,000m; arable land scarcity, landlessness, long tradition of opium production – crucial to livelihoods and food security, poor access and no central bazaar.
• Kishim District: above 850m; market links, good irrigation, socio-economic disparities, long history as major opium producer and recent reduction in opium production is unsustainable without development investment.
• Shar-e-Buzurg District: above 1,200m; remote, poor access, limited markets, little irrigation, serious food deficit and reductions in opium poppy cultivation following eradication campaigns.
Conclusion
Chronic food insecurity is the norm in 80% of households and affects both poor and middle income groups. Food insecurity was aggravated by several factors in 2007; including a dramatic increase in the price of wheat and a fall in the price of opium.
• There is thus an urgent need to address the issue of food insecurity on humanitarian, as well as on counter narcotics and governance / state building grounds.
• There is considerable demand for the rehabilitation and development of community infrastructure, with particular emphasis on irrigation systems, coupled with road rehabilitation and bridge construction to improve access to markets.
• It is essential to target aid programmes at both men and women in order to reduce opium poppy cultivation and establish sustainable licit livelihoods.
• Farmers are openly starting to oppose the government. Further poorly sequenced eradication campaigns could lead to a violent reaction and increased insecurity: undoing much of the state-building work that has been initiated in Badakhshan.
• Stopping opium poppy cultivation needs time; and elimination by force, without alternative livelihoods options in place is counter-productive and politically dangerous.
• Short-term food aid programmes have a potentially vital role as an initial step in long term economic development programmes.
Suggested solutions
• There has been a dramatic increase in the wheat price in recent months. One informant reported that: “In Ghor, at harvest time, one ser of wheat was 50 Afs. At present, one ser of wheat costs about 200 Afs at the market in Faizabad.” In the rural areas surveyed, villagers reported a market price of wheat is around 140 Afs per ser.
• In addition, the market price of opium has fallen substantially in the last two years. As a result, the terms of exchange between wheat and opium have decreased tenfold, thus considerably reducing farmer purchasing power. At present, farmers receive about 4,000 Afs per kg of opium, which they can only buy 200 kg of wheat with that money, compared with 2,000 kg in 2004. Another consequence of falling of the market price of opium is that the more isolated opium poppy growers have found it increasingly difficult to sell their crop: demand is reduced and opium traders are not visiting the more isolated villages so frequently.
• Finally, in the 2007, wheat crop did not yield well; due to the irregular and unseasonable rainfall.
• Women are highly involved in opium poppy cultivation and are often directly remunerated, and
• Women are extremely reluctant (or even unwilling) to stop opium poppy cultivation without alternative livelihoods opportunities being available. One key informant stated that “women are the first household members to convince to stop opium poppy cultivation.”
Critical overview on Project
Things Learnt
The most important objectives of this projection are, finding of priority need of the people who live in Kihsim, Shar e Buzurg and Khash in Badkhshan, Afghanistan. It is precisely clear that people in Badakhshan need food and work.
And this objective links to poppy cultivation in this three districts. Assessment finding shows the reasons and the factors behind poppy cultivation in these 3 districts. This assessment shows the following key data about Shar e Buzurg, Kishim and Khash districts of Badakhshan province:
· 0ne of 3 member of family migrate to the neighboring countries; especially to Iran because of cultural similarities to earn money and buy food.
· People migrate because of poverty.
· People in remote area do not have access to the markets for their primarily productions.
· People in these districts are in debts, Mafia; especially drug traffickers actively make people to cultivate poppy by lending money.
· There is lack of job and employment, public services and no more active NGOs; exception of Aka Khan Foundation.
· There is no canalization system in these 3 districts to cultivate much legal crop to get the price of opium poppy cultivation they cultivate in a small own lands.
· Cultivation depends on rain; or rainfall land cultivation is Badakhshan province at all and especially these three districts.
· It is a bottom up approach according to the assessment’s findings.
· Long traditional of poppy cultivation in these three districts.
· The big problem is poverty.
Gaps in the project
Despite, this assessment gives very important information to take decision for eliminating poverty and replacement of poppy cultivation with its alternative; especially saffron, there are many gaps in the project too.
· The first and very important gap is not being attached questionnaire to the assessment. What kind of questions they formulated selected and distributed to the target audiences.
· The level, class and in charging or not in charging to the drug production of interviewed families are not clear.
· The average number of interviewed family is not clear.
· The methodology is weak; specific statistic is not given.
· Lack of food, mentioned food insecurity in the project.
· No specific suggested strategies to social and behavior change suggested.
· Aid Charity preferred rather than development and sustainable projects with decisive participatory.
· Suggested strategies do not come from targeted audiences.
· No specific information of targeted audiences was attached.
Conclusion of Project
Poverty is the only powerful reason of people getting effect of mafia; especially drug traffickers in Badakhshan. There are lack of food but not food insecurity, lack of employment, lack of public services, lack of education facilities, and lack of educated and skillful farmers, lack of doing government promise have been given to the people for not cultivating poppy and lack of government sovereignty.
The first point of this conclusion ”There is thus an urgent need to address the issue of food insecurity on humanitarian, as well as on counter narcotics and governance / state building grounds” is necessary but that is not food insecurity; despite it is lack of food. And the second part of mentioned conclusion is not effectiveness; because of charity mechanism is suggested.
Rehabilitation and development of community infrastructure, irrigation systems, coupled with road rehabilitation and bridge construction to improve access to markets is the demand of all country, it not the only problem of these three districts.
Aid programmes are also urgent need of all part of the country, but it is very important that the aid must not be as a charity.
Further poorly sequenced eradication campaigns could lead to a violent reaction and increased insecurity, but forced eradication campaign has the opposite reaction too. It is also a common problem of the country.
The big problem of the residents is food and work. It will not be eliminated by running charity; unless creating social capital and networking as Micro Credits.
Reference
- http/www.unodc.org
- Http/www. wikipedia.org
- http/www.mom.gov.af
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