Abstract

There is a limited body of research on the role of opium as a source of informal credit. This discussion paper outlines the most salient points of the research thus far and raises some of the challenges that policy makers and development practitioners will need to overcome if opium poppy reductions are to be sustainable and not lead to the socio-economic differentiation and increasing levels of indebtedness that have contributed to the expansion of opium poppy cultivation in the first place.