02 August 2001

Text: Rocca on $1.5 Million in Aid to Former Afghan Poppy Growers

(Welcomes ban on poppy cultivation by Taliban)

Following is the text of a statement by Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Christina Rocca in Islamabad August 2 about $1.5 million in U.S. assistance to help sustain a ban on poppy cultivation in Afghanistan in areas under Taliban control:
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The Taliban appear to have effectively enforced a ban on poppy cultivation in the areas under its control. The area under cultivation has been reduced dramatically. We welcome the Taliban's enforcement of the ban, and hope it will be sustained.

It is important for the international community to assist the farmers who have felt the impact of the poppy ban. These farmers have few options as Afghanistan is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis brought about by over 20 years of conflict and drought.

To respond to the poppy ban, I would like to announce a $1.5 million U.S. pledge to the United Nations Drug Control Program's Short Term Assistance Project to sustain the ban on poppy cultivation in Nangarhar province in Afghanistan. U.S. funding for this project will focus on short-term assistance to enhance household food security and to mitigate the hardships of the most vulnerable groups of small landholders mid the landless in Nangarhar. Small landholders will be provided with improved seeds and fertilizers. Food-for-work schemes will be implemented for the landless and sharecroppers. We will continue to look for additional assistance for farmers affected by the poppy ban.

The United States is by far the largest provider of humanitarian assistance for Afghans. This assistance for farmers will bring total U.S. humanitarian aid for Afghans to $132 million to date this year. We provide our assistance to the people of Afghanistan, not to Afghanistan's warring factions."

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