Pity the poor farmers in Afghanistan's 34 provinces.
They're shouting "We have a fungus among us" as half of the Middle East country's opium poppy crops wither away in a massive blight.
Afghanistan produces 92 per cent of the world's opium, parent narcotic to heroin.
Opium is the major source of revenue for the Taliban and other insurgent groups bent on destroying western civilization as we know it.
Affected farmers blame aerial herbicide spraying by NATO forces.
Scientists however, believe a natural disease is attacking the plants and also negatively affecting livestock and wheat cultivation.
Helped by the disaster are western efforts to steer farmers into growing other popular crops that thrive in arid climates.
Don't think hashish or marijuana. Think pomegranates. (3 OCTOBER 2010)
