In Pa-O zone, no end to opium cultivation
A genuine ceasefire agreement between the government and armed groups is needed to tackle poppy cultivation in the Pa-O Self-Administered Zone, local groups say.
Research conducted by the Pa-O Youth Organisation (PYO) has found that opium eradication projects continue to fail because of the taxation of villagers by armed groups, the difficulty of growing and finding a market for other crops, a lack of land as a consequence of land confiscations, and a lack of, or insufficient treatment of, drug addicts.
