Written question asked by Paul Flynn (Labour) on Friday, 4 September 2015, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 8 September 2015. It was answered by Mike Penning (Conservative) on Friday, 11 September 2015 on behalf of the Home Office.

Afghanistan: Opium

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the UK spent on tackling opium production in Afghanistan in each year since 2005; and what the cultivation area of opium in that country was in each such year.

Answer

Estimates of opium cultivation in each of the last 10 years in Afghanistan are based on the Opium Survey carried out on a yearly basis by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The table below outlines the findings of the survey since 2005.

Year	Area of country under cultivation (in hectares)
2005	104,000
2006	165,000
2007	193,000
2008	157,000
2009	123,000
2010	123,000
2011	131,000
2012	154,000
2013	209,000
2014	224,000
2015	Published in Autumn 2015

The Government works with the Afghan authorities and international partners to target action against opium trafficking networks, rather than provide funding for programmes specifically focussed on opium production. Figures specifically relating to funding to tackle opium production are therefore not available.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 8452
Session: 2015-16
Transferred: Yes
Subjects: Afghanistan Opium
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk

Afghanistan: Opium

Secondary information

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