How genetically modified seeds have changed the Afghan opium industry
Lashkar Gah — With jingling poppy seeds hidden in his pouch, Helmand farmer Nematullah sidled out of Taliban territory to explain how he struck gold: two additional opium harvests a year, which could further roil Afghanistan’s conflict. Afghanistan has all the trappings of a narco-state, with opium production — the lifeblood of the Taliban insurgency — from the traditional spring harvest alone edging towards a record high. Farmers such as Nematullah are now reaping two more crops — in midsummer and autumn — in parts of the volatile south. Experts citing genetically modified seeds and bold farming experiments as irrigation techniques improve and eradication efforts collapse. "We used to have one annual poppy harvest — we now have three," said Nematullah, a young farmer from the insurgency-wracked district of Kajaki in northern Helmand. "Helmand has a lot of war, a lot of land, and very little employment except fighting for the Taliban. Poppies are a blessing — it now gives us work th...
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