Living with opium: livelihood strantegies among rural highlanders in Southern Shan State, Myanmar

Abstract

Myanmar (Burma) as the world’s second largest opium producer after Afghanistan accounts for 18 percent of global opium production. Opium cultivation chiefly occurs in rural upland Shan State where prolonged armed conflict and insecurity has existed for decades. This study examines the change in livelihood from licit crops to an illicit crop in upland southern Shan State. The specific research objectives are: (1) to understand various factors contributing to the historical development of opium cultivation in upland Shan State, (2) to analyze opium discourses by the Myanmar government, regional and international organizations and, the eradication campaigns at the local level, and (3) to examine livelihood strategies of poppy farmers in coping with risk and vulnerability, as well as elements contributing to continue opium cultivation. This study is based on intensive documentary research and two months fieldwork conducted in January and February 2014 in a Pa-Oh village where every household relies on opium cultivation and it represents one among hundreds of rural villages located in the highlands of southern Shan State. This study indicated that the change in livelihood of highland Shan State has occurred along with historical, political and economic factors in Myanmar. Having been legalized and popularized by the British, opium has continued as a high-value commercial crop and the production has risen steadily and it has played a significant role in the prolonged armed conflict of Shan State after independence. This study attributes the conflict that transformed upland Shan State to the results of political conditions in China in the 1950s and the introduction of the Burmese Way to Socialism which led the rise of separatist and ideological movements in the 1960s. During this time, opium cultivation has emerged, disappeared and reemerged according with the changing political order of Myanmar. The development of new opiate drugs in the nineteenth century changed the meaning of opium from being a powerful medicine to a social menace, although the British also perceived it as a lucrative commodity. Following the engagement in drug trade and enslavement of millions of people in Asia by Western traders, the West now postures itself as a champion in war on drugs. Subsequently, the last century has seen the emergence of a wide range of drug elimination efforts and of alternative development programs. Despite the influence of this international war on drugs, Myanmar government policy towards narcotics has been caught up in a dilemma. On the one hand, it is proved that opium eradication is a national responsibility. On the other hand, opium has been used in Myanmar as a way to generate personal profits and as a political tool to counter ethnic resistance and ideological insurgency. This study found that in the study area the decision to grow opium is not taken lightly since poppy cultivation entails high risk and vulnerability due to its illegal nature and environmental conditions. Households rely on opium cultivation to generate income for meeting their basic necessities of food, clothing and medicines. The underlying reason for turning to opium production has multiple sources including the legacy of armed conflict, uncertainty of land ownership, price advantage of opium, forced development projects, and the lack of market opportunity for legal crops. At the same time, an unsuccessful poppy harvest can result in a significant loss as poppy cultivation is both capital-intensive and labor-intensive. Although political risk can be managed by bribing local authorities, unpredictable weather is unavoidable. It is also demonstrated that opium poppy cultivation is as complex as other legal cash crops.