Alternative Development for Illicit Crops Has Not Succeeded and Can Never Succeed

Abstract

Thirty years ago an illicit crop containment policy called Alternative Development (AD), supported by UNODC and some developed countries commenced with fanfare, funds and optimism. It claimed to be a humane way of weaning illicit crop cultivators, but followed in the wake of eradication. It is a policy of selective economic development of illicit crop growing areas, excluding contiguous poor areas. Despite the prominence given to AD and the years spent in nurturing it there is no success at all. No statistical data is available of how many hectares of illicit crop have been permanently removed. On the other hand illicit cultivation of all drug crops keeps increasing. Most and of immediate concern is that, despite optimism of UNGASS 2017 and other NGOs, opium production in Afghanistan rose by 43 per cent to 4,800 metric tons in 2016 compared with 2015 levels. The area under opium poppy cultivation also increased to 201,000 hectares (ha) in 2016, a rise of 10 per cent compared with 183,000 ha in 2015. The higher production can be explained by the larger area under opium poppy cultivation, but the most important driver is the higher opium yield per hectare.