Will Bad Information Lead to Bad Decisions?
Will Bad Information Lead to Bad Decisions?
by Allison Brown
Download the full article: Will Bad Information Lead to Bad Decisions?
As a scientist I worry that too much of the discussion of poppy and opium in Afghanistan is based on bad biology, bad economics, and bad horticulture. Can we make good decisions based on wrong information?
Case in point. The other night CNN reported from Helmand on the usual “oh look at all that poppy” stuff that is part of the spring season. It is bad enough that the fields that CNN shows “blooming” are uniform green with not a flower in sight (was it really poppy?), but then the reporter, Chris Lawrence, says, “Every few days or so the Taliban will come by and pick off some bulbs,” and the Marine being filmed adds that he and his colleagues have seen the bad guys “hack a few plants that are ready to go and put it on a donkey and just head north.” Chris goes on to say that the Marines are not allowed to “slash and burn” the poppy fields.
Poppies don’t have bulbs they have seed pods. A single poppy pod or even a whole poppy plant is not particularly valuable, and mown green poppy plants have no value for drugs.
Download the full article: Will Bad Information Lead to Bad Decisions?
Allison Brown has over twenty-five years professional experience providing business development services to urban and rural development projects in developing economies. She is also a technical specialist on the use of agriculture and economic interventions in Counter Narcotics programs.
