Reprinted from Reuters.

YANGON - Myanmar's ruling military pledged yesterday to slash opium production by 50 per cent in the coming year, raising fears of a crisis for poor farmers dependent on growing the poppies which produce the illicit drug.

The Myanmar authorities said opium production in the country would be halved to about 412 tonnes in the 2002-2003 crop year.

Under pressure to dispel its image as the source of much of the illicit heroin on Western streets and ease its international isolation, Myanmar has embarked on a crop substitution scheme.

US and United Nations figures show opium production fell by about 25 per cent in 2001-2002 to 825 tonnes, from about 1,080 tonnes the previous year.