Sub-title:
Implications for alternative development, peace, and stability
Description:
"In 2016, the annual village survey was conducted in 591 villages in Shan state, the main opium
poppy cultivating area in Myanmar. An independent area estimation was not part of the survey
this year; however, UNODC expanded largely on the socio‐economic analysis of opium cultivation
in the context of the UN Guiding Principles on Alternative Development and achieving the
Sustainable Development Goals.
Opium poppy continues to be an important part of the Shan State economy
About 1 in 10 households in the villages surveyed in Shan State are directly involved in opium
poppy cultivation. The share of villages that cultivate opium poppy and the share of households
within these villages that participate have both decreased over the past year. However, opium
poppy is still integral to the state’s economy, and there are many households who depend on
poppy cultivation for their livelihood.
Figure 1: Change in the share of surveyed villages in Shan State that cultivate opium poppy,
and the share of households in opium cultivating villages that are involved in cultivation,
2015‐2016.
Fewer villages and farmers are growing opium poppy
There has been a reduction in the number of villages and households involved in opium poppy
cultivation; however, accompanied by an increase in the average area under cultivation per
household. The average area under opium poppy cultivation increased from 0.4 hectares per
household in 2015 to 0.6 hectares in 2016. This concentration of cultivation confirms earlier
observations.
The average income in opium poppy villages is higher, but the positive impact on household
finances is largely offset by higher costs of living
The average annual household income is higher in villages where opium poppy is cultivated
(US$2,261) than in non‐opium poppy villages (US$1,839). Farmers in opium poppy villages,
however, were primarily buying food with the income from poppy cultivation. Moreover, there
are several indications that people living in villages where opium poppy is grown face higher living
costs than their peers in non‐opium poppy villages. Many opium poppy villages in East and North
Shan are located in remote or highly inaccessible areas with low infrastructure coverage. For
example, very few opium poppy villages have asphalt roads, and somewhat fewer of these villages
have clinics than non‐growing villages (although village clinics are rare throughout East and North
Shan, with such facilities operating in less than one in five villages). The nearest outside clinic also
took twice as long to reach from opium poppy villages. The lack of clinics and roads means that
health and transportation costs are higher for farmers in opium poppy villages in East and North
Shan..."
Source/publisher:
UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime)
Date of Publication:
2017-03-00
Date of entry:
2019-07-05
Grouping:
- Individual Documents
Category:
Countries:
Myanmar
Language:
English
Local URL:
Format:
pdf
Size:
2.99 MB
Resource Type:
text
Text quality:
- Good