Abdul Khaliq Stanikzai says the tiny mound of red and yellow threads in the palm of his hand could help cure Afghanistan of its opium addiction （AP）. With agricultural development now seen as pivotal to weaning Afghanistan off drugs and war, multi-million-dollar programs aimed at offering farmers alternatives to poppy production are cropping up nationwide. In western Herat province bordering Iran, purple crocus plants have slowly replaced pink poppies in some areas （AP）, but the benefits of swapping to saffron from opium are long term and, Stanikzai said, farmers need to be convinced.

史丹尼柴說：他手掌心那一小堆紅黃色細絲，可幫助阿富汗人戒除鴉片菸癮（小圖／美聯社）。如今，農業發展已被視為幫助阿富汗走出毒癮和戰爭的關鍵。旨在提供農民生產罌粟替代作物的數百萬美元方案已普及全國，在赫拉特省西部和伊朗接壤地帶，紫色番紅花已在某些地區逐步取代粉紅色罌粟花（大圖／美聯社），但史丹尼柴表示，還得說服農民相信，從鴉片轉種番紅花是著眼於長期利益。

“Saffron requires confidence and patience because the output grows year by year, and it is not until year four that the plant is at the top of its production and income for the farmers,” said Stanikzai, Herat director of Sanayee Development Organisation, an Afghan aid group. The saffron growing season is from mid-September to mid-November, outside the normal cropping season, it is easy to grow and requires little water. And of course it brings in more income than poppies: farmers can earn 3,000 to 5,000 dollars per hectare from opium, but saffron farmers after three years can make up to 30,000 dollars per hectare.

「種植番紅花需要信心和耐心，因為產量會逐年成長，但要等到第4年，產量和農民收益才會達到頂點。」史丹尼柴說，他是位於赫拉特的阿富汗援助小組「沙納葉發展組織」的主任。番紅花種植季節從9月中旬到11月中旬，在一般農作季節之外，只要一點點水分，很容易生長。但它所創造的收益比罌粟高：農民每公頃鴉片可賺3000到5000美元，但3年後番紅花農每公頃地有3萬美元收益。

Afghanistan is one of the world's poorest countries and its biggest producer of opium, the base for heroin -- accounting for more than 90 percent of supply. Supported by drug gangs -- who sub-contract protection to Taliban gunmen -- Afghan poppy growers have a guaranteed income, with fertilizer, water and cash advances from middlemen who also collect the opium paste. Afghanistan's opium industry is worth almost three billion dollars a year, supplying heroin to Europe and helping fund the Taliban-led insurgency, which is in its 10th year and spreading across the country.

阿富汗是世上最貧窮國家之一，卻是提煉海洛因的鴉片最大產地，約占總供應量90%以上。阿富汗罌粟農有販毒集團為靠山，這些黑幫再請神學士武裝分子當保鑣。這些農民收入有保障，中間商則提供肥料、水和預付款，並從中收集鴉片膏。阿富汗鴉片業年產值近30億美元，除了提供歐洲海洛因，並從旁資助神學士所領導已步入第10年的叛亂活動，烽火蔓延到全國各地。

Afghanistan produced around 3,600 tons of opium this year, almost 50 percent of the 2009 output, the UN's Office on Drugs and Crime （UNODC） said. But the value of the opium rose by 38 percent to 604 million dollars at the farm gate, which could encourage farmers to boost cultivation. The report put the value of opium output at five percent of Afghanistan's gross domestic product （GDP） this year, more than six times the value of the wheat crop.

聯合國毒品及犯罪辦公室指出，阿富汗今年約生產3600噸鴉片，約為2009年產量的一半，但價格上漲38%，農場交貨價達6.04億美元，這可能鼓勵罌粟農擴大種植；鴉片產值占阿富汗今年國內生產總值5%，是小麥作物產值6倍以上。

The ease of growing poppies contrasts sharply with alternatives on offer, with farmers who do wish to switch often facing Taliban intimidation. Washington is supporting agricultural development as an adjunct to the military effort to end the war, with USAID managing programs worth one billion dollars to create jobs and boost incomes. These efforts led to 22 poppy-free provinces and less opium cultivation.

種植罌粟易如反掌，和其他替代作物形成強烈對比，希望轉種的農民往往面臨神學士恫嚇。美方支持以發展農業為結束戰爭的附加條件，美國國際開發總署並提出10億美元方案，以創造就業機會和增加收入。這些努力使無罌粟省分增至22個，並使鴉片種植減量。

Still, the returns on high-end cash crops look good and agriculture ministry spokesman Abdul Majeed Qarar said, “every day more and more farmers express interest in growing saffron.” The stigma of the crocus plant that produces the high-priced spice has been used for thousands of years to add fragrance, flavor and color to food. It is also used in herbal medicines, dyes and perfumes. Between 50,000 and 75,000 flowers are needed to produce half a kilogram of dried saffron, which can retail for more than 5,000 dollars. Stanikzai said the farm-gate price for opium in Herat earlier this year was 95 dollars a kilo, compared to 2,000 dollars for saffron. He estimated annual production at 1.14 tons. Qarar said saffron was growing on 300 hectares in Herat and another 300 hectares in Uruzgan, Kapisa, Parwan and Laghman provinces, adding: “We are now testing soils in 20 provinces to see if saffron will grow there.”

但高檔經濟作物收益看好，阿富汗農業部發言人卡拉說：「每天有愈來愈多農民表示有意種番紅花。」番紅花柱頭可生產高價位香料，數千年來被用來添加食物的香氣、風味和顏色。也可當藥材、染料和香水。通常要5萬到7.5萬朵花才能生產半公斤乾燥的番紅花，其零售價逾5000美元。史丹尼柴表示，赫拉特今年稍早鴉片交貨價每公斤95美元，番紅花則可賣2000美元，估計年產量可達1.14噸。卡拉則說：赫拉特目前種300公頃番紅花，另在烏魯茲甘、卡皮薩、帕萬和拉格曼省也種了300公頃，他並說：「我們正在測試20個省分的土壤，看看是否適合番紅花生長。」

Afghanistan is a minnow in the market, competing with Iran, Italy, Spain, India, Greece, Azerbaijan and Morocco, though Qarar said Afghan saffron had already found markets in the Gulf and India. With help from the United States, France and the Netherlands, farmers from across the country were coming to Herat to learn the advantages of saffron.

但跟伊朗、義大利、西班牙、印度、希臘、亞塞拜然和摩洛哥相比，阿富汗是個不起眼的市場，卡拉則表示，阿富汗番紅花已成功打開波斯灣和印度市場，並在美、法、荷蘭協助下，各地農民紛紛到赫拉特取經，了解種番紅花的好處。

With the insurgency intensifying and the July 2011 deadline for the start of a drawdown of US combat troops nearing, Qarar said there was pressure to build up Afghanistan's capacity to process alternative cash crops. US agriculture officials have said that without processing, storage, transport and distribution facilities -- let alone markets -- efforts to boost cash crop output could come to nought. Qarar said, “Huge challenges still remain. To improve the quantity and quality of saffron we need saffron experts, we need laboratories to process saffron, research teams to work on how to improve the quality and quantity of saffron.”

由於叛亂加劇，加上2011年7月美軍開始撤軍期限逼近，卡拉稱，他們面臨強大的壓力，要搶建阿富汗處理替代經濟作物的能力。美國農業官員表示，如果沒有加工、倉儲、運輸和銷售等配套設施，遑論市場了，想提高經濟作物產量有如緣木求魚。卡拉說：「艱鉅的挑戰仍在。為了改善番紅花的質量，我們需要番紅花專家，更需要加工實驗室及研究小組，研究如何提高番紅花的質量。」