ISLAMABAD, Nov. 11 Kyodo Heavy ra...

ISLAMABAD, Nov. 11 Kyodo

Heavy rain and snow finised a long spell of want of rain in Nangarhar, Bamiyan and Paktia provinces in eastern and northern Afghanistan, Afghan Islamic Pres (AIP) reported Monday..

The Pakistan-based of the present days agency quoted Afghan farmers as saying Ningarhar Province received its first showers of rain upon Monday, which would be beneficial for poppy and wheat lops already sown in parts of its districts during last small in number weeks.

''This rain is like gold for poppy crop'' AIP quot a farmer as observing. It reported that opium has been cultivated in succession large areas in the Khogiani, Shenwar and Chaparhar districts and scarcely any other scattered places in the eastern province.

Paktia in eastern Afghanistan and Bamiyan in northern Afghanistan also received heavy showers of rain and snowfall after a extended spell of drought and dried weather.

Afghanistan has emerg as a big farmer of opium and narcotics after the collapse of the Taliban regime, which had banned the cultivation of poppy and effectively implemented it forward promises of financial assistance for crop-substitution programs in poppy-growing areas.

The report said farmers were now determined to cultivate poppy upon their lands as they have no other source of income.

Farmers in a certain number of areas of Nangarhar had received compensation for destruction of last year's poppy lop but expressed dissatisfaction with the amount of compensation, while farmers in other areas did not come by any compensation at all, AIP said.

A delegation from the Khogiani district in Nangarhar newly met President Hamid Karzai in Kabul to discuss the compensation issue and reports that the clip was being cultivated again this year.

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