Myanmar Battles To Replace Poppy Cultivation With Cash Crops
Poppy cultivation is still prevalent in the mountainous region of Myanmar. (Photo credit: UNODC website.)
caption: Farmers opt for poppy cultivation instead of other cash crops as they fetch lucrative prices. (Photo credit: UNODC website)
By Vijian Paramasivam
PHNOM PENH, June 27 (Bernama) -- The ongoing armed conflict is hindering Myanmar's efforts to eliminate poppy cultivation and combat drug trafficking, posing a threat to national security.
The prevailing political instability, due to conflict between the military and armed militias, and rising economic hardships, are pushing farmers in remote mountainous regions to cultivate poppies.
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'Growing poppy and heroin production were a major issue for Myanmar in the past. Currently, the country has been facing challenges of synthetic drug production, trafficking and trading similar to other countries across the world.
'On the other hand, the number of sown acres of poppies rises again in the areas controlled by ethnic armed groups,' said Home Affairs Minister Lt-Gen Tun Tun Naung, reported the state media, The Global New Light of Myanmar.
Myanmar is working to introduce alternative crops, such as coffee and tea, along with livestock projects, to replace poppy cultivation among farmers.
During the 2024-25 poppy cultivation season, security forces destroyed nearly 1,900 hectares (4,734.5 acres) of poppy plantations.
In conjunction with the 2025 International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on Thursday, Myanmar authorities destroyed 66 kinds of drugs and precursor chemicals, including heroin, opium, methamphetamine, cannabis and ketamine worth RM1.3 billion (US$297 million) in Yangon, Mandalay, Taunggyi and Sagaing, said the state media.
In a lengthy article published in the state media on Thursday, the occasion of the global anti-drug campaign, Tun Tun Naung revealed the monumental task his government faces in eradicating the social scourge.
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