More than 90% of the total global production of opium and heroin currently takes place in Afghanistan (UNODC study, 2007). The amount of land used to grow poppies illegally in Afganistan has been growing constantly since the fall of the Taliban. In 2007 it grew by 17% to 476 900 acres. The revenue generated by exporting opium to neighbouring countries represents 4 million dollars, which is more than half of Afghanistan’s GDP. Reducing the amount of opium poppies being cultivated will demand constant effort on the part of both national and international actors who will have to progressively implement a strategy to eliminate this illicit production. Several approaches have been tested to reduce production (crop eradication, alternative crops, buying the poppies from the farmers…), but, so far, none have been successful.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, is in the process of redefining its strategy towards the cultivation of poppies by implementing a global programme which includes the government and security and development programmes.
UNODC asked Groupe URD to carry out an evaluation in the province of Badakhshan, in order to identify the most pressing needs of vulnerable farmers who are involved or could become involved in poppy cultivation, and to make operational recommendations for a partnership between UNODC and the WFP. The evaluation focused particularly on the potential impact that food aid could have on opium production.
Individual and collective interviews were carried out in a large number of households in order to analyse the constraints poppy cultivators have to deal with, the strategies that they adopt, the main factors which lead farmers to cultivate opium poppies and the conditions which would be necessary for them to stop or to never start.

The priority needs of the target groups were identified via qualitative and quantitative approaches. The results of this research are not available to the general public for the time being.