Families in the fields as annual Afghan poppy harvest begins

An Afghan man walks through a poppy field in the Gereshk district of Helmand province, Afghanistan April 8, 2016. REUTERS/Abdul Malik

ZHARI, Afghanistan (Reuters) - In Zhari, a parched district northwest of Afghanistan's second city of Kandahar, 13 year-old Naqibullah is working in his father's poppy field, preparing for the main harvest of the year.

Harvesting the poppy and collecting the resin that will be used to make opium, heroin and other drugs that eventually find their way on to world markets is a labour-intensive business and boys as young as six are hard at work in the fields.