Opium Production Surged in Myanmar

Ethnic Pa-O poppy farmer holds a harvested poppy stem with dried-up opium sap in a poppy cultivation in central Shan state, Myanmar. Official efforts to stamp out opium production in Myanmar are falling flat because poor farmers don't have alternative ways to make a living. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

An opium field is seen in Shan state in Myanmar. Official efforts to stamp out opium production in Myanmar are falling flat because poor farmers don't have alternative ways to make a living, a U.N. agency said Wednesday. (AP Photo/UNODC)

Villagers harvest opium at a field in Myanmar's Shan state. Official efforts to stamp out opium production in Myanmar are falling flat because poor farmers don't have alternative ways to make a living. (AP Photo/UNODC, File)

A ready to be harvested opium is seen in an opium field in Shan state in Myanmar. Official efforts to stamp out opium production in Myanmar are falling flat because poor farmers don't have alternative ways to make a living. (AP Photo/UNODC)

Afghan farmers collect raw opium as they work in a poppy field in Khogyani district of Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Afghanistan. Official efforts to stamp out opium production in Myanmar are falling flat because poor farmers don't have alternative ways to make a living. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Opium is harvested at an opium field in Shan state in Myanmar. Official efforts to stamp out opium production in Myanmar are falling flat because poor farmers don't have alternative ways to make a living. (AP Photo/UNODC)