KARZAI STEPS UP FIGHT AGAINST AFGHAN POPPY CROP

ANKARA - Afghan interim leader Hamid Karzai said on Thursday he was
determined to stamp out poppy growing in Afghanistan and had passed a
decree to destroy crops and compensate farmers.

"Yesterday we issued a decree for the complete ban on the growth of poppies
in Afghanistan and the trafficking of it in the form of drugs," Karzai said
on a visit to Ankara.

"We have announced measures that would enable the farmers to receive some
assistance in return for the destruction of poppies," he said, after
meeting Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit.

Afghanistan was traditionally among the world's major opiate producers.
Observers say production surged this year after a lull last year due to a
ban by Afghanistan's former Taliban rulers on poppy cultivation.

Opium growing plummeted last year to about 74 tonnes in 2001 from 3,656
tonnes in 2000, but since the Taliban fell the trade has flourished. A new
crop is to be harvested within weeks.

A U.N. report estimates 45,000 to 65,000 hectares (110,000 to 160,000
acres) of poppies were planted this season, with a potential yield of
between 1,900 and 2,700 tonnes of opium, the raw ingredient for heroin.

"We have made illegal the loans that some rich people give to farmers in
return for the growth of poppies," Karzai said.

Karzai banned cultivation of poppies in January but implementation has been
difficult since the ban requires support from various factions around the
country.

Western diplomatic sources in Ankara said the new decree included
provisions for the army to enforce destruction of poppies and said cash
payments would be available for farmers who cooperate in destroying crops.

Karzai said he discussed drug issues with officials in Turkey, a major
transit country in the global trade bringing drugs to Europe and the United
States.

"Today, here with Prime Minister Ecevit we discussed all aspects of the
poppy cultivation and drug trade and we asked the government of Turkey to
cooperate with Afghanistan in continuing this fight against poppy
cultivation and the smuggling and trading of it in all forms," Karzai said.

It was not immediately clear how the measures, which include projects to
boost employment in rural areas and encourage growing alternative crops,
would be funded. Afghanistan has appealed for international financial
support for such plans.

Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah said in Geneva on Wednesday Britain
would be involved in plans to eradicate poppy growing in Afghanistan.