Compared with last year, poppy cultivation in Afghanistan has increased by 330 percent, from 10,000 hectares to 43,000 hectares. Production has increased by 400 percent.
According to the UN, widespread poverty and an established illegal market for opium are the underlying causes:
The increase shows how difficult it is to curb illicit opium cultivation when poor farmers have no livelihood options, says Monica Juma of UNODC.
Opium production was completely banned in 2022 after the Taliban took power. Before that, Afghanistan was the world’s third-largest producer and a source of heroin for Europe and Asia.
The UN emphasizes that it is too early to say whether the increase is temporary.
