HARNESSING THE POWER OF THE POPPY

KANDAHAR - There has been much debate in Canada regarding the
dramatic increase in violence in Kandahar, the southern Afghan
province where Canadian troops are stationed.

For two years, I have lived in Afghanistan performing research for
the Senlis Council, a European think tank. During this time, I
witnessed how the Taliban insurgency has been fuelled by forced
poppy-crop eradication. This disastrous counter-narcotics policy has
destroyed the livelihoods of impoverished farmers, and led to the
disintegration of whole communities. Kandahar has suffered years of
severe drought -- poppy is one of the rare crops that will grow in
this harsh climate. Over 85% of the province's population relies on
farming to survive. Without crops, families have become internal
refugees. Their poverty has engendered severe disillusionment with
the international community and is hindering NATO's mission of
winning hearts and minds.

Forced poppy eradication is also aiding the insurgents, who have
gained widespread support from farmers. Southern Afghanistan is now
in a state of war in which the international military presence is
increasingly perceived as the enemy invader. The Taliban, who have
cashed-in on local disillusionment by spreading effective
anti-Western propaganda.

Not only has eradication harmed NATO's reputation, it has also been a
failure in regard to its stated objective. Opium production is at an
all-time high in Afghanistan. In September, the UN Office on Drugs
and Crime announced record cultivation levels: 165,000 hectares of
poppy were cultivated in 2006, with a potential yield of 6,100 tonnes
of opium -- a 60% increase from 2005.

Winning back the hearts and minds of the Afghans is the only way
stabilization will be achieved. To that end, Canada and its NATO
allies must implement a long-term, economically sustainable solution
for poverty relief in Kandahar, one that directly engages with the
rural communities that are suffering most.

Toward that end, the Senlis Council has been researching a poppy
licensing system for Afghanistan for the production of legal
medicines such as codeine and morphine. Opium is the raw ingredient
for these vital pain-killing substances, of which there is a
significant global shortage. Turkey and India already use similar systems.

Poppy licensing would address the poverty and hunger crises which
have swept across southern Afghanistan, whilst at the same time
combating illegal opium trafficking. It would help build bridges
between impoverished farming communities, the central government and
NATO, and would encourage farmers to cut ties with insurgents, thus
facilitating security efforts. The Senlis Council is ready to finance
and implement a series of pilot projects in southern Afghanistan --
the best way to find out if licensing is a viable solution.

Poppy licensing would also give Afghans a sense of ownership in
counter-narcotics, which would go a long way to winning back support
for the Karzai government and the international presence, thus
helping to reduce Canadian casualties in Kandahar.

But for this to be successful, eradication must stop immediately, and
poverty must be addressed. Makeshift camps of villagers displaced by
poppy eradication and bombing are now numerous in the south of the
country -- even in Kandahar city, just a few kilometers away from the
Canadian military base. Canada must react to this crisis now, by
injecting immediate poverty aid and actively opposing the policy of
poppy eradication.

The Canadian government should support our request to run
poppy-for-medicine pilot projects in Kandahar, and take leadership to
end the vicious circle of violence and deprivation that is providing
a safe haven for the Taliban in Afghanistan.

What I have seen in Kandahar indicates we are losing the campaign for
the hearts and minds of the people. We must act quickly to win them back.