MORE than half the fields in the area surrounding the main Australian base in Afghanistan are growing opium poppies, as coalition forces struggle to wean locals off the lucrative crop.

Afghans have apparently questioned why troops and police have failed to crack down on the semi-open sale of the poppies, according to a non-governmental organisation.

Continued growth ... an Australian soldier on patrol in Sorkh Morghab, Oruzgan province, whose main crop is poppies. Credit:Neil Ruskin

Allied forces in Oruzgan province have had some success in convincing locals to grow wheat, fruit and saffron, but opium poppies are still the province's biggest cash crop.

The Liaison Office says in its report: ''Locals find it hard to comprehend why military forces or Afghan National Police have not intervened into poppy cultivation on sale so close to the district centre of Tarin Kowt, and blame it on corruption.