A senior officer has admitted that the Army's efforts to curb opium production in Afghanistan have been “pretty patchy”.

In an interview with The Times, Brigadier Andrew Mackay, who commanded 52 Brigade when it headed Taskforce Helmand this year, said that work to eradicate poppy cultivation would be ineffective unless accompanied by a drive against the crime lords who fuel the opium trade and by provision of alternative jobs for poppy farmers.

While UN figures show that poppy cultivation has dropped overall in Afghanistan, cultivation in the Helmand province has risen by almost

50 per cent since British troops were first deployed there in 2006. Helmand accounts for two thirds of the country's poppy supply. The amount of opium produced in the region alone this year was higher than Afghanistan's total output in 2005.

Brigadier Mackay said: “I think everyone accepts that the efforts to date have been pretty patchy and we have not witnessed any substantive progress, but that is because it is hugely complex. For a country that is one of the poorest in the world, we've got some of the poorest farmers in the world viewing it as the only means of feeding their family.

“Certainly when we were there we put a lot of effort into supporting eradication efforts but equally it has got to be part eradication, part interdiction - it is a seasonal crop so [we need to be] arresting people at the top of the business.”

Despite his concerns about opium production, Brigadier Mackay, who was in charge of more than 6,000 troops - including Prince Harry - in Helmand, and who next year will become the head of the Army in Scotland when the incumbent leader steps down, believes that the coalition is turning a corner in its battle against the Taleban. He is reasonably optimistic that the war can be won.

It is vital, he says, that Afghanistan become a fully functioning society, and he suggests that the coalition, along with the international community, must play a role: “In a lot of insurgencies, what you might call the bottom-up approach is a good approach. At a tactical level day-to-day, in this case, you are taking on the Taleban. You are beating them, you are getting development and reconstruction going.”

Brigadier Mackay conceded that accessing equipment was difficult because of the distance between Britain and Afghanistan and the lack of a direct line of communication but that did not make the job impossible.

“Everyone would accept that this kind of conflict places considerable strain on the provision of equipment, the use of equipment and keeping it on the road - spares and everything else, but my experience when we

were there was that we saw a considerable improvement in all three of

those areas.”

In another blow for the military this week, Alec Lucas, a 25-year-old Royal Marine from Peebles, became the latest casualty in Afghanistan. The father of one, who died in an explosion in the Kajaki area of Helmand, was the 126th serviceman to die in the country since 2001

Brigadier Mackay thinks the casualties must be borne: “I talked to many parents whose sons died on our tour. The view I give them is that our presence in Helmand is one that is worthy, it is the right thing for us to be doing, and that their son's life was not in vain. Some parents see that and accept it, and some parents profoundly disagree, but it is my job to explain it.

“If we weren't there we would have an Afghanistan that returned to Taleban control and it would serve to destabilise Pakistan yet further. And we would bear the consequences ... so we are there for the right reasons.”

A HARVEST OF HABIT

In 2008, 157,000 hectares of poppies were grown throughout Afghanistan, adding to a potential street value of £475 million

Helmand, the biggest poppy producing region, contributed two thirds of the total harvested this year with a street value of £317 million. The region’s output has increased sixfold in five years,

Poppy cultivation is estimated to be three times as lucrative as growing wheat with one hectare of poppies fetching £3,028 compared with £1,056 for one hectare of wheat. In 2007, poppy crops were worth ten times as much as wheat, with one hectare of poppies valued at £3,377 compared with £355 for wheat

It is not yet known what percentage of the world opium trade this year’s harvest will account for, but in 2007 Afghanistan produced 93 per cent of the world’s opium supply

Source: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

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