Written question asked by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Conservative) on Wednesday, 1 February 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 6 February 2006. It was answered by Kim Howells (Labour) on Thursday, 9 February 2006 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Afghanistan

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the estimated size is of the area dedicated to poppy production in each region of Afghanistan.

Answer: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) conducts an annual survey into the level of opium poppy cultivation and production in Afghanistan. In 2005, UNODC estimated a total of 104,000 hectares of land were under opium poppy cultivation, with the highest levels of cultivation seen in Helmand, Kandahar, Balkh, Farah and Badakshan provinces. Total production was estimated at 4,100 tonnes. These figures represent a 21 percent. reduction on cultivation and a 2.5 percent. reduction on production over 2004 figures. The smaller scale of the decrease in total production resulted from higher yields per hectare arising from good weather conditions and less disease. Full details, including the level of opium cultivation by province from 2002–05, can be found in the UNODC Afghanistan opium survey, November 2005, or on UNODC's website http://www.unodc.org.A final assessment of opium cultivation and production for the 2005–06 growing season will not be available until the end of the year.

Secondary information