Farmers

Guns, Taliban: Afghanistan's Heroin Problem

Afghanistan is by far the world's biggest producer of heroin, supplying between 80-90 percent of global output, making the drugs policies of the new Taliban-led government of crucial importance.The price of heroin, addiction levels, as well as the extent of drug-related violence and smuggling will be influenced by the new rulers of a country that counts opium production as one of its biggest industries.International efforts over the last 20 years to eradicate the farming of poppies, whos

22 August 2021
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Cambodia’s Food Crisis In A Pandemic

The coronavirus crisis has severely affected livelihoods, local industries and the economy in general. It has also disrupted world trade, supply chains and also the production of food and agricultural products and commodities. According to Samarendu Mohanty, Asia Regional Director at the International Potato Center, the production of wheat and rice in Asia would be heavily impacted if lockdowns to curb the pandemic and virus restrictions continue to be enforced.

30 June 2020
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ASEAN women are powering the coffee industry

International Coffee Day falls on 1 October every year with coffee businesses offering promotions to coffee lovers worldwide. But if coffee is not your cup of tea, it is important to know that it is a key commodity in Southeast Asia.In 2017, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Cambodia exported a total of US$5.34 billion worth of coffee based on a report by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

2 October 2019
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Cambodia's farmers fight debt bondage

Bopha should be in school but instead toils seven days a week in a searing brick kiln on the outskirts of Phnom Penh – a 14-year-old trapped in debt bondage in a boom industry preying on the poverty of Cambodia's farmers.Unpredictable weather linked to climate change is laying waste to Cambodian fields.Saddled with debt from failed harvests, tens of thousands of farmers are turning to brick factories, where owners pay off their bills in exchange for labour.The factories feed a surging co

6 January 2019
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Thai farmers giddy over new medical marijuana law

Thai farmers welcomed a new law allowing cultivation and use of marijuana for medical purposes Wednesday, in an Asian first that promises an economic bonanza but also fears that foreign companies could reap the rewards.Thailand's National Assembly passed a bill Tuesday legalising the use of marijuana and kratom - a traditional herb - for research and medical use. The move is a significant step for a region that levies harsh sentences for drug violations.

27 December 2018
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