Afghanistan: Afghan Farmers Grow Legal Crops to Replace Poppy Cultivation

Jul 12, 2020 | Abdul Haleem, Xinhua
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Infamous for growing poppy and increasing insurgency, the restive Helmand province has been regarded as a hotbed for the Taliban outfit, which rules parts of the province over the past more than a decade. The head of the provincial Agriculture Department Zalmay Alko told Xinhua said the government is committed to supporting the farmers to grow grapes, melons, watermelons, wheats, rice and other legal crops. According to the official, many farmers in Helmand and neighboring provinces have given up poppy cultivation and switched to planting legal crops.