Poppies – © Ispace/Shutterstock
For centuries, the opium poppy has been cultivated with great success in what is now North Macedonia. After the bans of the Yugoslav era, some now want to reintroduce it for the (legal) needs of the pharmaceutical and food industries.
Over the past two centuries, the opium poppy was one of the main agricultural crops in Macedonian fields. It was then almost banned in the old socialist system, but today, after several decades, despite strict rules and regulations, attempts are being made to restore the tradition of growing this plant in North Macedonia.
As an agricultural crop, the poppy was so prevalent that it even appears on the Macedonian national coat of arms, designed in 1946. However, under Yugoslavia, its production was greatly reduced and almost banned in order to prevent illegal trade, because opiates can also be obtained from it.
Today in North Macedonia there are strict rules and regulations for poppy production, and some are currently trying to put it back into the fields because it is simple to cultivate, and above all because of the climatic advantages available the country.
Bringing the poppy back to the fields of North Macedonia?
Aleksandar Dimitrievski is a young entrepreneur who owns a company that cooperates with farmers and offers them a purchase guarantee: according to strict law, he uses poppy seeds for the production of pharmaceutical products and as food supplements.
According to Aleksandar, poppy is very easy to grow and 90% of North Macedonia’s fertile soils are suitable for this crop.
“Poppy can be planted from the first to the sixth class of fertile soil. It cannot be planted only in hilly and windy areas, because when the wind blows, it simply blows away the poppies. It does not require much work, it does not require irrigation, it simply grows, it does not need pesticides, but only natural fertilizers,” explains Aleksandar Dimitrievski.
The stem of the poppy has a “head” or capsule at the top, and the word pepper (чушка) is colloquially used among Macedonians to refer to it. It is planted in September and harvested in June and July of the following year. The seeds are extracted from the “head” and two products are made from it: poppy collagen and poppy oil are used as pharmaceutical products, but also in the food industry.
“The nutritional values of unchanged poppy seeds are fascinating and revolutionary. They find application in modern food, which contributes to the immunity of the human body,” emphasizes Aleksandar.
Besides its business potential, Aleksandar says his idea to revive poppy production is part of his dream to bring change to Macedonian society. He began his commercial career in the collection and processing of used edible oils, with the aim of preserving the environment in the face of their uncontrolled release into nature. He then also worked in the glass selection and processing sector.
In North Macedonia, poppy cultivation is currently estimated at around 25 hectares in total, but according to trends it could increase significantly in the coming years and – according to some analyzes – it could reach up to 200 hectares. Available poppy data show that in the past in North Macedonia poppy was planted on several tens of thousands of hectares.
The poppy in Macedonian history
Serbian historian and publicist Vladan Jovanović, in his study “Macedonian opium: on the financial and political dimensions of the phenomenon (1918-1941)*, published data on opium producers in the Vardar valley: according to the author, between the two world wars the region, which corresponds to present-day North Macedonia, once met approximately 43% of the demand of the legal poppy processing industry globally.
From a cultural perspective, the poppy is an important theme in Macedonian poetry and art. Many folk songs and poems celebrate the work and way of life of Macedonians through the poppy.
Another important historical source regarding poppy production in North Macedonia is the document collection “Turkish-Yugoslav Central Opium Bureau (1931-1941)”, by the State Archives of the Republic of Macedonia North**.
According to the documents, the quality of Macedonian opium was known on the world market even at the time when Macedonia was part of the borders of the Ottoman Empire. The main factors were the favorable geological predispositions of the terrain and the specific climatic conditions characteristic of certain regions of Macedonia.
Specifically, the penetration of the Mediterranean climate from the Aegean Sea along the valleys of the Vardar and Struma rivers, combined with the loose soil containing fine sand and some lime, provided ideal conditions for poppy cultivation.
Since the 1880s, information had been circulating that the opium from which the highest percentage of morphine was obtained, that is, the best quality, was grown in the Tikvesh region, in the central part of Macedonia.
Official sources on the quantity of opium obtained in Macedonia are, however, rare and insufficient. Statistics from the Ottoman Empire indicate that 70 tons were produced in 1880 and the following year production reached 79 tons of raw opium. Between 1901 and 1911, annual production in Macedonia amounted to 30 to 80 tons. During the Balkans and the First World War (1912-1919), production averaged 60 tonnes per year.