Afghan Poppies Attacked by Fungus
Opium Poppies. Have they met their fungal match? (Wiki Commons)
Afghan poppy farmers, who grow a big chunk of the poppies used to supply the world with opium, are accusing NATO of infecting their fields with a poppy-killing fungus. They just might be right.
According to Fungus hits Afghan opium poppies:
A serious disease is affecting opium poppies in Afghanistan, Antonio Maria Costa, the head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has said.
Mr Costa told the BBC that this year’s opium production could be reduced by a quarter, compared to last year’s yield.
He said the disease – a fungus – is thought to have infected about half of the country’s poppy crop. Afghanistan produces 92% of the world’s opium.
It’s already having an affect on the price of opium.
Fungi Fighting the War on Drugs?
It could be a natural occurrence, but nature could be getting some help. A blog post at Nature.com points out the fact that an opium biocontrol project is known to exist. According to Bio-control of Afghan opium crop?:
An investigation by the BBC’s Panorama programme in 2000 revealed that the United Nations Drugs Control Programme was leading a research project on, Pleospora papaveracea, a pathogenic fungus that kills the opium poppy. The programme was mainly funded by the US with Britain making a US$147,800 (£100,000) contribution.
The Panorama programme says both London and Washington pledged to use the fungus against Afghanistan poppies only with the consent of the Afghan government.
The BBC article from 2000 on the Pleospora papaveracea fungus is still available. Conspiracy theorists, start your engines.
More on Fungal Biocontrol of Poppy Plants
Kill or cure: Bio-weapons in the war on drugs
Production of Pleospora papaveracea biomass in liquid culture and its infectivity on opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) (abstract) (Full Text PDF)
Tags: biocontrol, mycoherbacide, opium, Papaver somniferum, Pleospora papaveracea, poppies
Regardless of the cause of the blight, this is a great boon to the Taliban, who already have large stockpiles of opium, estimated to be many, many tons, and which will now fetch a better price.
Of course, once again, it’s the poor farmers who get the short end. Oh yeah, and us, too – higher heroin prices mean junkies need to steal more stuff.
Much as I love fungi, I’m not cheering for this one.
You are probably right. There seems to be no good solution to this problem. It seems to me that governments should cooperate and buy the whole opium supply each year directly from the farmers and then destroy it. Wouldn’t that end up costing a lot less in the long run and help the Afghan farmers at the same time?