KABUL: On a visit to the northern Afghan Province of Takhar, the Afghan Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, Haneef Atmar, has called for the total elimination of opium poppy.
Mr Atmar praised the people of Takhar for a reduction in poppy cultivation, but he said this was not enough. "The Government of Afghanistan demands full elimination," he said.
In Takhar, Mr Atmar said his ministry is already putting US $6.5 million into the province through the National Solidarity Programme (NSP) for 5 districts this year; the ministry is further funding US $1.5 million for road building projects; and a further US $1.0 million for drinking water. In addition, he said that USAID may put anything between $3 million and $5 million into Takhar Province for Alternative Livelihoods.
Speaking in Takhar Province's conference hall in Taloqan yesterday (Tuesday), Mr Atmar said "the continued provision by the Afghan Government of Alternative Livelihoods for the province would depend on the commitment of the people and the provincial government in carrying out full elimination of opium poppy this coming year."
Mr Atmar was joined on the visit to Takhar by the Deputy Minister of Interior, General Mohammad Daud, a senior member of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Roger Carlson, and other senior Afghan government officials involved with the Counter Narcotics programme.
Mr Atmar said that all this aid needs to be properly planned and spent. "Officials from the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development will help people in Takhar plan their priority projects through district development planning within the next two weeks," he said.
Mr Atmar spoke about the reasons why the Government of Afghanistan is determined to put an end to poppy cultivation. "Last year about $2.8 billion dollars was made in the country by the narcotics industry, but only $600 million of this went to the farmers. The rest went to drug lords and traffickers," he said.
"Part of that latter money is then used to corrupt the government and also to create insecurity. Drug traffickers work well in an environment of insecurity. But such an environment is an absolute catastrophe for the ordinary people of Afghanistan," said Mr Atmar. "And that is why the people should support the government in its resolve to put and end to the drugs industry."
During their visit to Takhar, Mr Atmar and the other senior Afghan officials also discussed the damage incurred in the province from recent floods, which have affected many villages, where houses and crops have been destroyed. The Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development has been helping stricken families with tents, blankets and food. Roger Carlson said USAID has also promised to help fund the flood emergency projects.
They went to inspect an area where the flooded Farkhar River had destroyed many houses and was threatening to cut off the road linking Takhar and Badakhshan Provinces with the rest of the country. Mr Atmar ordered work to be done to save the road, saying that his ministry would pay the bill.
The tour to Takhar follows similar visits to other provinces, such as Ghor on Sunday, at which Mr Atmar and USAID officials visited areas targeted for Alternative Livelihood projects where people who had ceased poppy cultivation would be provided with maximum employment opportunities under the National Emergency Employment Programme (NEEP). | 
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