Opium production - the darker side of horticulture

You could be forgiven for thinking that horticulturists are the good guys in a world of bad.

Working the soil and producing plants for consumption is a rewarding art that fills the tummies of the world, provides the ingredients for medicine or raw materials for industry.

But the demand for Opium in China reminds of the darker side of horticulture.

Whilst opium has its positive medical benefits and growing the opium poppy is a lucrative business for Myanmar (previously Burma) The BBC reports the downsides are often addiction for the communities living around the growers.

Right up until the end of the 20th century, the mountains of Myanmar, which was part of the so-called "Golden Triangle" with neighbouring Laos and Thailand, was the largest supplier of opium. The region was then overtaken by Afghanistan.

Demand from China, but also Australia and Japan, is one factor behind the rise in production in Myanmar over the last decade.

The single biggest driver in this turnaround is the growth of demand in China where Undoc estimates that 70% of the heroin produced in Asia is consumed by more than a million users.

Another part of the puzzle is poverty. Ranked 150 out of 187 countries in the UN's Human Development Report, Myanmar is one of the poorest countries in Asia.