US rules out opium eradication programme in Afghanistan

The US has ruled out opium eradication programme in Afghanistan till a comprehensive plan is developed to provide an alternative source of stable income to the farmers in that country who are forced to produce it by terrorist outfits like Taliban.
"This is a tough problem to get at, but to simply, you know, work towards some eradication programme - to burn them to the ground, while that may have an immediate effect, it doesn't necessarily do anything for long-term stability and security for Afghan farmers," State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters yesterday.
"We're all well aware that the Taliban has used it to finance itself. It's also a source of stability and income for poor farmers, who are basically forced, many times, to grow it for the Taliban," he said.

Responding to a question, Kirby said it is not just as simple as an eradication programme.
"You have to be able to work on supplementing it for something else, and we have worked with Afghan authorities for many years about trying to find other crops that farmers can grow to make a good living, and there's been some success in that," he said.
"Is it total and complete? No, it's not, we all recognise that," he said.
The US has and will continue to remain focussed on trying to work towards a more secure, more stable, more prosperous Afghanistan, Kirby said.