Afghanistan opium poppy cultivation surges despite Taliban govt ban: UN
UN experts said the crop rose 330% to more than 43,000 hectares as poverty and drought pushed farmers back to poppy.
- On Thursday, the United Nations reported that Afghanistan's opium poppy cultivation more than quadrupled in 2026, reaching 43,000 hectares despite a Taliban government ban, with production jumping fivefold to 1,500 tonnes.
- UNODC Executive Director Monica Juma noted the increase reveals poverty's grip on farmers; one hectare of poppy generates $10,000 compared to just over $770 for wheat, making alternatives economically unviable.
- Farmers like 22-year-old Mohammad told AFP, "Without opium, we cannot even afford basic food," while UNODC estimates only 10 percent of the required $500 million for alternative development has been funded.
- Clashes erupted in May as Afghan security forces moved to destroy opium fields in Badakhshan, killing two people, though Taliban authorities claim to have destroyed more than 22,000 hectares.
- UNODC Country Representative for Afghanistan Polleak Ok Serei called for a "drug demand reduction strategy, not only in Afghanistan but also outside of Afghanistan," citing Thailand's 15-year alternative livelihood investment as essential.
78 Articles
78 Articles
Farmers in Afghanistan are producing significantly more opium again, despite a ban on the lucrative drug cultivation that the Taliban instituted four years ago. This is reported by the United Nations (UN). The figures show the vulnerability of Afghan farmers, who can barely make ends meet due to the struggling economy. Within a year, the area used for Afghan opium production has nearly quadrupled to around 43,000 hectares. That is still signifi…
Afghan farmers have resumed opium poppy cultivation, as reported by the Afghan Internacional Portal.
The Taliban have banned the cultivation of poppy poppy and the production of opium in Afghanistan 2022. Now, according to the UN, production has increased for the first time - by 400 percent within one year.
This photograph, taken on 11 October 2026, shows an Afghan farmer holding raw opium in his home in Badakhshan province. Fayzabad, Afghanistan Opium cultivation quadrupled this year in Afghanistan, despite the ban imposed by the Taliban government, informed the UN on Thursday (29) that it stressed the need to present productive alternatives to poor farmers. Do you have any suggestions for reporting? Send to g1 The planted areas reached 43,000 hec…
After Taliban Banned Opium, Kids Became Malnourished
Afghanistan's once-empty poppy fields are quietly filling in again, and hunger is a big reason why. After the Taliban's sweating opium ban that started in 2022 nearly wiped out cultivation, farmers like 28-year-old Mohammad Dawood in the Balkh province shifted to legal crops such as wheat and cotton—only to...
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