This video explains the topic of American farmers combating the production of opium in Afghanistan, helping the people of Afghanistan learn to plant alternative crops such as wheat, apples, rice, or melons.
The region (highlighted in this video) produces 90% of the opium produced worldwide, and the Taliban receives $100 million from this production. Opium yields $1,500/acre. This is comparable to the alternative wheat crop, which only yields $500/acre. Therefore, opium is three times more productive (in monetary terms), which explains the difficulty in stopping the production.
President Obama implemented a plan called The Civilian Surge, which is explained in the following article. As of March 2010, it was hoped that 450 civilians would be implanted in Afghanistan. This objective has not been accomplished, partially because of funding, allocation, and implementation all being on a late time frame, according to Jacob Lew, deputy secretary of state for management and resources.
There is also difficulty with finding people with the right set of skills who are willing to stay in Afghanistan for a yearlong deployment.
I found the following quotes from the National Geographic article interesting:
"We have two forms of money here: poppy, and American dollars," says a beardless 33-year-old Helmand farmer named Rehmatou as he leaves the Marine base with his fertilizer. "This is our economy. The Taliban aren't pressuring me—that's just a story you see on TV. I grow for myself. I smuggle for myself. The Taliban are not the reason. Poverty is the reason. And they'll keep growing poppies here—unless they're forced not to. Force is the solution for everything. As we say in Pashtu, 'Power can flatten mountains.'"
"This is a bad way to make money," Rehmatou says gravely. "It trains you for no other occupation. When a father feeds a boy with money from poppies, he will grow poppies too. He'll have no other skill. We have no carpenters, no engineers, no mechanics. We have nothing."
With a sad smile, the farmer says, "It is a kind of cancer on our country."
And so to eradicate poppy, we would first have to eradicate corruption.
