US failing to curtail Afghan opium trade despite spending billions

Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan reached an all time high in 2013 despite constant efforts by the US to curb the drug trade.

According to the BBC, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction said the US had spent 7.6 billion dollars (4.72bn pounds) over 13 years trying to eradicate the plant.

Despite an inflow of funds from various agencies aimed at supporting narcotics officers and helping farmers in the region to change their livelihood, Afghanistan grew 209,000 hectares of the plant in 2013.

A UN body says the value of this crop was nearly 3 billion dollars (1.86bn pounds), up 50 percent from 2012.

Afghanistan produces about 80 percent of the world's total opium.

Hinting at rise in opium poppy production this year, US inspector general, John Sopko said that with deteriorating security in many parts of rural Afghanistan and low levels of eradication of poppy fields, further increases in cultivation was likely in 2014.