“What is needed in the period ahead is much stronger international support in establishing and developing law enforcement institutions, and providing Afghan farmers with alternative, licit means of livelihood,” said Mr. Costa.

He also called for greater assistance to the Afghan authorities in carrying out their “strong commitment” to preventing opium cultivation, and noted that immediately after assuming office, President Karzai issued a decree banning not only cultivation but also the processing, trafficking and abuse of opiates – a position which was reiterated last month.

Those moves were made in response to the proliferation of opium cultivation in Afghanistan. By the late 1990s, the country provided about 70 per cent of global production of illicit opium, while some 9 million people, or two thirds of all abusers worldwide, consumed drugs of Afghan origin, ODC said. About half a million people have been involved in the international trade of illicit Afghan opiates in recent years.

The survey’s findings were based on high-resolution satellite images complemented by extensive ground surveys. UN investigators visited 923 villages in 84 districts of 16 provinces.

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