\nOpium farming in Afghanistan has dropped significantly following a ban imposed by the Taliban government in 2022, the United Nations said.
\nThe total area of land for growing opium poppy shrank 20% since last year, while the amount of opium has fallen by 32% over the same period, the UN\u2019s Office on Drugs and Crime said in a survey.
\nAfghanistan used to produce more than 80% of the world\u2019s opium, with heroin made from Afghan opium making up 95% of the market in Europe.
\nBut after retaking power the Taliban banned the practice in April 2022, saying opium was harmful and went against their religious beliefs. The UN said most farmers continued to observe the ban despite \u201csevere economic challenges\u201d.
\nMany Afghan farmers are harvesting cereals, but poppy – from which opium, the key ingredient for the drug heroin can be extracted – continues to be \u201cfar more profitable\u201d than legitimate crops, the UNODC noted.
\nOver 40% of available farmland has remained fallow because of the lack of profitable alternatives, limited agricultural outputs and, adverse climate conditions it added.
\nThe total area under opium poppy cultivation this year was estimated at 10,200 hectares, mostly in the north-east of the country, with Badakhshan province accounting for the largest share. Before the 2022 ban, more than 200,000 hectares were under poppy cultivation in Afghanistan.
\nFour provinces with opium poppy cultivation in 2024 (Balkh, Farah, Laghman, Uruzgan) were declared opium poppy-free in 2025.
\n\u201cThe near elimination of cultivation from traditional strongholds illustrates the scale and durability of the ban on opium poppy cultivation,\u201d the survey said.
\nThe Taliban\u2019s efforts to destroy opium fields occasionally sparked violent resistance from the farmers, particularly in the north-east, the UNODC said, noting that casualties were reported during clashes in several districts of Badakhshan.
\nBut the vast majority of Afghan farmers adhere to the ban issued by the Taliban\u2019s supreme leader.
\nHowever, farmers say they lack support to grow alternative crops – as a result, they have to choose between poverty or punishment.
\n\u201cIf we violate the ban, we face prison. If we comply, we face destitution,\u201d one unnamed farmer in Helmand province told BBC Pashto this summer.
\n\u201cIf there\u2019s no money, then I\u2019ll grow poppies again.\u201d
\nPoppy fields are no longer openly visible in Helmand, but they do still exist.
\nAnother farmer showed BBC Pashto around his small walled-off poppy field in front of his house in a remote village. He\u2019s risking jail, but he said he had no option.
\n\u201cWhat should I do? I\u2019m forced to do this – I have nothing else. I can\u2019t even provide food for my family.\u201d
\nWhile opium is in decline, trafficking in synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine have risen since the ban, the UNODC said.
\nSeizures of such drugs in and around Afghanistan was 50% higher in late 2024 compared with the previous year.
\nOrganised crime groups favour synthetic drugs which are easier to produce and less vulnerable to climate shocks, the UNODC said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Opium farming in Afghanistan has dropped significantly following a ban imposed by the Taliban government in 2022, the United Nations said. The total area of land for growing opium poppy shrank 20% since last year, while the amount of opium has fallen by 32% over the same period, the UN\u2019s Office on Drugs and Crime […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":513478,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-513449","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n