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2. Helmand on the Move: Migration as a Response to Crop Failure
- Author:
- David Mansfield
- Publication Date:
- 10-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
- Abstract:
- This paper provides an account of how the shift in security provision from a combined ISAF and ANSF operation to one driven by local actors has impacted upon a number of different locations in central Helmand. It is based on 140 in-depth interviews conducted in ten research sites in May 2015, and draws on a more extensive body of research consisting of fieldwork in many of the same locations dating back to May 2008.
- Topic:
- Security, Military Strategy, Non State Actors, and Local
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Middle East
3. Where Have all the Flowers Gone? Assessing the Sustainability of Current Reductions in Opium Poppy Cultivation
- Author:
- David Mansfield
- Publication Date:
- 05-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
- Abstract:
- Levels of opium poppy cultivation have fallen in Afghanistan for two consecutive years and it now appears that cultivation will be maintained at this relatively low level for another year. This briefing paper examines the reasons behind the reductions and assesses their sustainability, with special emphasis on the key provinces of Nangarhar and Helmand. It identifies instability and drops in livelihood standards caused by coercive reductions in opium poppy cultivation, and finds that increasing levels of wheat production do not reflect a sustainable shift from opium production, but instead are a sign of market failure, growing concerns over food security, and coercion.
- Topic:
- Security, Agriculture, Food, Rural, Drugs, and Sustainability
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Middle East
4. Counter-Narcotics in Afghanistan: The Failure of Success?
- Author:
- David Mansfield and Adam Pain
- Publication Date:
- 12-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
- Abstract:
- The briefing paper argues that to truly understand what will create sustainable change in the Afghan opium industry, observers need to improve the tools being used to measure the success of counter-narcotics efforts. Measuring opium poppy-cultivated area serves as one of the few—and, in some cases, the only—means of gauging counter-narcotics success or failure. But relying on this indicator alone will not give policymakers an accurate sense of what drives opium poppy cultivation or what will sustainably reduce it. Until new indicators can inform counter-narcotic policy, perceptions of “failure” or “success” will likely continue to focus on short-term fixes rather than reach the root of the problem with long-term solutions. The paper concludes that a number of other indicators should be studied to improve policy concerning opium, including: incomes, physical security, food security, commodity markets and cropping system diversification. It also offers viable suggestions for ways to measure these markers of success or failure.
- Topic:
- Security, Drugs, Trade, Sustainability, and Farming
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Middle East
5. Evidence from the Field: Understanding Changing Levels of Opium Poppy Cultivation in Afghanistan
- Author:
- David Mansfield and Adam Pain
- Publication Date:
- 11-2007
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
- Abstract:
- For many rural households the cultivation of opium poppy represents the key means by which they can achieve welfare under the conditions of pervasive risk and insecurity in Afghanistan. This briefing paper argues that understanding changing levels of opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan requires recognition of the multifunctional role of opium poppy cultivation in the livelihoods of rural Afghan households.
- Topic:
- Security, Agriculture, Rural, Drugs, and Farming
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Middle East