Poppy Farmer:

'IF THEY SPRAY OUR CROPS THERE WILL BE A BIG REBELLION, YOU'LL SEE'

Agha Nour has had some of his poppy crop eradicated. His neighbour's
has remained virtually untouched. Others in the area have lost the
lot.

The harvest left untouched belongs to his cousin, Haji Abdul Munaf,
who just happens to be the Mayor of Lashkar Gah, the capital of
Helmand, the province that produces around 30 per cent of
Afghanistan's poppy.

Mr Nour, 77, claims he does not know what influence his cousin had on
the eradication. "I think they will come back and finish off what is
left. We are poor people, and this is our livelihood. How will we feed
our families?"

Mr Nour also cultivates wheat, fruit and alfalfa on his two hectares.
But while he gets 50 Afghanis (60p) for 4kg of wheat, 4kg of poppy can
fetch $400.

"They are blaming the Taliban... but we have been doing this for many
years," said Mr Nour. "They should provide us with other income. They
do not. Young people are getting angry. They will fight the
government, the British, the Americans who want to take away our earnings."

"We have heard aerial spraying kills all crops and affects cattle,"
says58-year-old Syed Ali. "If that happens, there will be a big
rebellion, you will see."