Monsoon poppies wore umbrellas

Monsoon poppies wore umbrellas, says farmers

Reporter: Saeng Khao Haeng

Two townships in Shan State has begun a monsoon crop for poppies this year, said sources coming from southern Shan State.

Panglawng, and Faikhun(Pekhon), townships west of Taunggyi, the seat of Shan State, had just harvested their monsoon crop in August, according to sources, who said the farmers provided shelters that looked roughly like umbrellas, made of stakes, leaves and plastic sheets, in order to protect the opium juice that came out of the seed pods after incision.

"It worked quite well," said one source, "although not as good as the post-monsoon crop."

The rising price of opium, the failure of other crops to sustain a family, and the general policy of tolerance practiced by the authorities were the reasons for this so-far-unheard-of phenomenon, said the sources.

"For instance, the Paos, known as cheroot-leaf planters for so long, are destroying their fields to make space for poppy cultivation," they said.

Rangoon, on the other hand, has said that opium output is decreasing due to government efforts and that it is implementing a 15-year Narcotic Drugs Elimination Plan beginning 1999-2000.