Britain’s multi-million pound scheme to cut opium cultivation while troops fought in Helmand only paved the way for a boom in drug production and record harvests, according to new research.<\/p>\n
The UK’s four-year programme to encourage farmers to grow wheat instead of opium had little direct effect on the drug crop at the time. But it led to a shift in farming patterns which has since seen new fields spring up in desert areas and record levels of opium growth.<\/p>\n
Britain’s efforts also fed local corruption and fomented resentment against the local authorities it was trying to build, according to the research by a leading expert on Afghanistan’s drug production.<\/p>\n
The project called the Helmand food zone…<\/p>\n