Access to Labour: The Role of Opium in the Livelihood Strategies

Final Report June 1999

Typically, respondents sold the opium they were given as payment in the local area. Indeed, 40% of total sales were made in the bazaar in which the opium had been harvested. The highest incidence of such sales was in Marja where 60% of respondents sold their opium in the district bazaar. A further 30% were found to sell their opium in the nearby bazaar of Lashkargah, in Bust district, and the remaining respondents in Sangin bazaar, Sarban Qala. Both these latter two bazaars are on the route to the opium cultivating districts of Kajaki, Musa Qala and Nawzad. In the districts of Kajaki, Musa Qala and Nawzad, many of the respondents sold their opium either in the local district bazaar or in neighbouring districts depending on their route of travel.

Some of those who cultivated opium poppy on their own land claimed to transport the opium they were paid for their work as itinerant harvesters to their district and combine it with the opium they produced from their own crop. This opium would then be sold at the local bazaar, where respondents believed they could obtain a higher price. The justification of this belief may lie with respondents delaying the sale of their opium until after the local harvest and the subsequent glut in the supply of opium, or the access some respondents may have to better prices due to the patron-client relationships that they have with opium traders in their own area (see Box 4).

Box 4

The Boy from Marja: A sixteen year old boy from Marja district was interviewed whilst working as an itinerant harvester in Musa Qala. He reported that whilst he had been lancing opium for three years on his father's land, this was the first year in which he had worked as an itinerant harvester. He indicated that his father had 5 hectares of land which had been cultivated with opium poppy and pomegranates. He claimed that his father's share of the final yield from the 4 hectares of opium cultivated was 180 kg of opium, and that the income generated from its sale, would belong to his father. With the encouragement of the itinerant harvesters that were working on his father's land, the boy had decided to travel to Musa Qala to work as an itinerant harvester and generate some income of his own. He predicted that he would be paid approximately 2.25 kg of opium for his work in Musa Qala as well as receive three good quality meals, consisting of meat, vegetables, bread and yoghurt. He indicated that after completing the harvest in Musa Qala he would travel northwards to Baghran to conduct a final harvest, before returning home. He reported that he would sell the opium he earned in Musa Qala and Baghran in Marja district once prices had increased in the post harvest period. He claimed that he would put some of the money he earned towards his engagement.

Amongst those itinerant harvesters interviewed, there were two cases of opium use. One respondent was from the refugee camps in Balochistan the other from Nimroz, where key informants suggest opium use has increased dramatically in recent years.

The vast majority of respondents reported that they would use the income they generated from their work as itinerant harvesters for basic necessities, including wheat, clothes, sugar, and tea. Transportation was also a common response from respondents.

However, given that four of the respondents were students, school fees, books and stationary were also cited as items that would be purchased. Two respondents indicated that they would use the income they earned for the repayment of debts. A further respondent indicated that he would put his payment towards the cost of his engagement.

Only two respondents reported that they would be using the proceeds from their labour for productive investment. The first, from Oruzgan indicated that he would use the income he earned to purchase livestock. Unfortunately, the second respondent reported that he would sell the opium he earned from working as an itinerant harvester in Helmand province in Nimroz, close to the Iranian border, where he reported that he could obtain a higher price. With the proceeds he would purchase more opium in Helmand to sell, once again at the border, and thereby finance his trade in opium.�

Opium is a labour intensive crop and as such, its profitability is vulnerable to increases in the cost of hired labour during harvest time. The cost of itinerant labour for the opium poppy harvest has increased from one sixth to one fifth of the final yield in previous years, to one fifth to one quarter of the final yield in 1999. The extent of opium poppy cultivation in 1999, and the early harvest in Nawzad is thought to have created a local labour shortage, forcing up the cost of labour in Helmand. Combined with the fall in the price of opium, due to the level of opium cultivation and the high yields, this rise in labour costs will have reduced the margin of profit accrued by landowners in Helmand, possibly impacting on their decision to cultivate opium in the 1999/2000 growing season.

Itinerant harvesters in Helmand tend to come from a wide range of areas within Afghanistan and from refugee camps from across the border in south west Pakistan. In total 10 provinces in Afghanistan were represented amongst those interviewed, including provinces in north, south and central Afghanistan. A number of Afghan refugees residing in Balochistan were also interviewed whilst they worked as itinerant harvesters. The distances that respondents were willing to travel to obtain work as itinerant harvesters would tend to suggest that the opium poppy harvest in Helmand provides an important source of seasonal off-farm income for households both within and outside the province.

The majority of itinerant harvesters interviewed were found to come from the provinces of Ghor and Helmand. Within Helmand most of the major opium poppy producing districts were represented by respondents, many of whom reported cultivating opium on their own land. The majority of respondents from Ghor came from those districts in close proximity to Helmand province, including Pasaband, Sharaq and Taiwara. A number of the respondents from Ghor reported that they not only worked in Helmand during the opium poppy harvest but during the poppy weeding season as well, supporting the view that off-farm income opportunities in Ghor are limited and seasonal migration is an important source of livelihood for many of the province's inhabitants.

The majority of itinerant harvesters interviewed worked as itinerant harvesters during periods of agricultural underemployment on their own land. Indeed, the majority of the itinerant harvesters interviewed owned land, particularly those from Ghor and Helmand where the incidence of land ownership was found to be highest. The great majority of respondents from Helmand were found to cultivate opium in their own districts and, during periods when there were few agricultural demands from their own land, work as itinerant harvesters in other districts within the province. Similarly, landownership was high amongst respondents from Ghor, who reported that after completing the opium poppy harvest in Helmand, they would return to their own land to harvest their rainfed wheat. However, landholdings were reported to be small amongst both groups and considered insufficient to satisfy household basic needs.

Itinerant harvesters in Helmand are typically young and male. Those interviewed ranged from 10 years of age to 55. Whilst the average age of the itinerant harvesters interviewed was 24, almost half of those interviewed were under 20 and only 16% of respondents were 35 years or older. Three quarters of respondents reported that they had been working as itinerant harvesters for less than 5 years, whilst one fifth reported that they were harvesting opium poppy for the first time.

Whilst women were not found to work as itinerant harvesters in Helmand province, the opium poppy harvest is a time in which the reproductive and productive roles of women increase dramatically. During the period of employment the landowner is expected to provide three good quality meals and tea by itinerant harvesters. The family members of the landowner, including boys as young as 10, who are working on the harvest, also require regular food and drink due to the arduous nature of the task. The burden of food preparation is carried by the females of the landowners family, who due to the labour intensive nature of the opium poppy harvest and a tradition of exclusion, receive little assistance from the male members of the family.

Most respondents reported that they had learnt how to harvest opium poppy from either their relatives or friends. For those who came from opium producing districts, their first experience of harvesting opium poppy was in their own district and generally on their own land under the tuition of their relatives. Those respondents that did not come from opium producing districts typically conducted their first harvest in Helmand. Those respondents travelling in a group of itinerant harvesters, with no prior experience of lancing and collection of opium were given training by those members who had previously worked as itinerant harvesters in the area.

Recruitment as an itinerant harvester in Helmand would appear to be based on local supply and demand factors rather than traditional family or tribal links. Indeed, few respondents reported that they worked for the same landowner each year. The variance in the time of the harvest of opium poppy each year and the demands of respondents own agricultural land, would seem to mitigate against such habitual arrangements. As such, recruitment would seem to be a function of the time of the opium poppy harvest in the district, the availability of itinerant harvesters, and the result of negotiations between landowner and itinerant harvesters.

Itinerant harvesters are typically mobile, taking advantage of the staggered nature of the opium poppy harvest in Helmand province to increase their off-farm income opportunities. Indeed, only 10% of respondents reported that they harvested opium in one district. Almost two thirds of respondent were found to harvest in two districts, whilst one quarter indicated that they harvested in three districts. Respondents typically began the harvest in the southern districts of Helmand and then travelled northwards as the harvest period reached the districts situated at higher altitudes. Generally, the route respondents travelled and the number of harvests they completed was found to depend on their district of origin and the agricultural needs of their own land.

Whilst the income generated from working as an itinerant harvester is considered important, household agricultural production is given priority by those respondents with landholdings. Indeed, almost one third of respondents reported that they would be returning to their own land to harvest opium at some point during their travel between the different opium poppy producing districts. Moreover, 72% of respondents indicated that they would be returning to their own land to tend to their own crops, many foregoing the possibility of working as an itinerant harvester in another opium producing district. This would tend to suggest that the income earned form working as an itinerant harvester is merely an important supplement to household production rather than a substitute for it.

Itinerant harvesters in Helmand were typically paid a share of the final yield in opium for their work during the harvest. This strategy is preferred by landowners who seek to share the risk of crop failure with itinerant harvesters. Indeed, the payment of a share of the final crop was almost uniform amongst respondents, despite itinerant harvesters preference for a fixed payment of opium based on the size of the land and an agreed number of lances. This would suggest that despite the increase in the share of the total yield paid in 1999, itinerant harvesters do not have the market power to dictate the terms and conditions of their work.

Itinerant harvesters in Helmand generally sold the opium that they received in payment for their work in the local bazaar on the completion of each opium poppy harvest. Whilst respondents who were cultivating opium on their own land tended to combine the opium they were paid with the opium they produced and sell it later in their district of residence, 40% of those interviewed sold the opium they were paid, promptly in the local bazaar in the district in which it was harvested. Few respondents reported storing their opium for any period of time despite the increase in opium prices that are experienced in the post harvest period. This would tend to suggest that the income generated from their work as itinerant harvesters is used to satisfy more immediate needs.

For the majority of respondents, the income obtained from working as an itinerant harvester was used to purchase basic necessities. Wheat, clothes, sugar and tea were the most frequently cited goods to be purchased by respondents with the proceeds of their work as itinerant harvesters. Few respondents were found to be investing the income generated for productive purposes and none reported that they would be purchasing luxury consumer items. This would tend to suggest that the income derived from working as an itinerant harvester is an important contribution to household livelihood strategies.

A failure to provide alternative off-farm and non- farm income opportunities for itinerant harvesters may well result in opium poppy cultivation relocating to new areas, the so called ?balloon effect'. Fieldwork in both the south and east suggests that itinerant harvesters are a major contributory factor in the introduction of opium poppy into new districts in Afghanistan. Small landholdings, increasing demographic pressure and the shortage of off-farm and non-farm income opportunities, limits the livelihood strategies of the resource-poor. The labour intensive nature of opium poppy provides those with insufficient land to satisfy household basic needs with an important source of wage labour. Given that the environmental conditions in many parts of Afghanistan are suitable for opium poppy cultivation, a failure to address the needs of this semi-skilled labour force may increase their vulnerability and prompt their migration to new areas in search of off-farm income opportunities. Fieldwork suggests that itinerant harvesters are currently finding the off-farm income opportunities that they require through the introduction of opium poppy into new areas and facilitating the increase in the intensity of opium cultivation in existing areas of production. This problem needs to be addressed if sustainable and net reductions are to be achieved by regional development interventions aimed at reducing opium poppy cultivation in Helmand province.

If both conventional development objectives and alternative development objectives are to be achieved, development interventions aimed at reducing opium cultivation need to target both those who own the land and those who work the land on a short term basis.

Given the increasing fragmentation of landholdings in rural Afghanistan and growing demographic pressures, the development community in Afghanistan needs to give priority to developing labour intensive methods of implementation that provide off-farm and non-farm income opportunities.

Reconstruction and rehabilitation projects, including bridge building, canal cleaning and road repairs, should seek to maximise labour inputs and minimise the use of capital. This strategy would prove more appropriate to the immediate needs of the Afghan community and have possible implications for the availability of hired labour for the opium poppy harvest.

Where possible labour intensive activities should be conducted over an extended period, prior to, during, and after, the opium harvest each year, so as to provide alternative sources of income for itinerant harvesters. Moreover, a coordinated and focused approach by the development community in Afghanistan has the potential to create local labour shortages and raise the labour costs of opium cultivation. This would possibly serve to change households' expectations of future hired labour costs, and combined with other well-targeted development interventions, serve to reduce opium poppy cultivation in subsequent years.

Close monitoring will be required to assess the cost-effectiveness of a coordinated strategy aimed at both increasing off-farm and non-farm income opportunities, and raising the cost of hired labour during the period of the opium poppy harvest. Household response strategies to an increase in wage labour opportunities during this time may include the increased use of family labour for the opium poppy harvest, including women, children and the elderly. If both conventional and alternative development objectives are to be achieved, it is important that the burden on these vulnerable groups are not increased.�

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Access to Labour: The Role of Opium in the Livelihood Strategies of Itinerant Harvesters Working in Helmand Province, Afghanistan

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STRATEGIC STUDY #4

Final Report June 1999