KABUL, Afghanistan, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- Poppy cultivation in Afghanistan's northern provinces has tripled since 2003, says a survey.
The survey, conducted in December by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, will be discussed during a meeting of northern Afghan leaders and government officials in Kabul next week.
British and American representatives are also attending the meeting.
The survey revealed poppy cultivation in northern Faryab province increased about four-fold, rising from 800 hectares in 2003 to 3,200 in 2004. In Sari Pul province it increased by 38 percent.
In a message to the community and tribal leaders from these two provinces, the Afghan minister for anti-narcotics affairs said the people and government of Afghanistan were committed to eradicating poppy cultivation because it has brought shame to Afghanistan.
They recalled that Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said that as Afghanistan's first elected leader, his top priority is to fight the opium and heroin trade that has also crippled the Afghan economy.
