Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Tony Baldry (Conservative). It was answered by Hilary Benn (Labour) on Wednesday, 12 October 2005 on behalf of the Department for International Development.

Afghanistan

Question: If he will make a statement on his Department's progress on poppy eradication in Afghanistan.

Answer: DFID is supporting the overall UK effort to combat poppy cultivation through providing alternative livelihoods. Working with others, we are putting in £50 million this year to support agriculture. Recent provisional UN figures suggest that there has been a 21 per cent. decline in poppy cultivation acreage in 2005. The challenge will be to sustain that reduction next year. Long-term development and the creation of a stable and secure state governed by the rule of law will be the key factors in achieving that.

Secondary information