Myanmar declares war on opium Policemen and local villagers destroy a poppy field above the village of Tar-Pu, in the mountains of Shan St...

Myanmar declares war on opium

Policemen and local villagers destroy a poppy field above the village of Tar-Pu, in the mountains of Shan State January 27, 2012. Reuters

Villagers rest after destroying poppy fields above the village of Ho Hwayt, in the mountains of Shan State January 26, 2012.REUTERS

Villagers rest after destroying poppy fields above the village of Ho Hwayt, in the mountains of Shan State January 26, 2012.REUTERS

Moe Mohm, 48, an ethnic Pa-O widow with six daughters whose poppy field was destroyed, sits in her house in the village of Kyauk Ka Char, in the mountains of Shan State January 26, 2012. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Myanmar has dramatically escalated its poppy eradication efforts since September 2011, threatening the livelihoods of impoverished farmers who depend upon opium as a cash crop to buy food.

With new ceasefires ending years of conflict between the government and ethnic insurgents, Myanmar police and United Nations officials are travelling through opium-rich Shan State to ask farmers what assistance they need.