Kabul: A survey by the UN agency has reported a 95 percent decrease in poppy cultivation in Afghanistan for the production of opium, an intoxicant. This is stated in the report released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Afghanistan is one of the largest opium growing countries in the world. However, the figures show that there has been a huge decrease in opium cultivation in recent years. In April last year, the Taliban issued an order banning the cultivation of opium. It was also announced that there will be severe punishment for those who violate the law.
According to the UN agency, opium production in Afghanistan was 6200 tons in 2022. It will decrease to 333 tonnes in 2023. There has also been a huge decrease in the area under poppy cultivation. Opium was cultivated in an area of 2.33 lakh hectares last year, but in 2023 it has reduced to only 10,800 hectares.
Afghanistan earned the notoriety of being the ‘opium capital of the world’ due to its large-scale opium cultivation. There was also an economy centered on the income from opium production. Therefore, the report of UNODC points out that the massive decline in opium cultivation will have far-reaching consequences, including in the economic sector. The report says it is necessary to adopt other development methods to make Afghanistan free of opium and keep remote communities economically viable in the future.
UNODC Executive Director Gada Wali said this is an opportunity to take long-term action against the illegal opium market in Afghanistan and the damage it causes. At the same time, the consequences of this very positive change for the people of Afghanistan should also be addressed – he said.
Schemes should be implemented to enable farmers to overcome the loss of income due to cessation of opium production. Farmers can move away from opium cultivation only if there are strong investments in the sector to stabilize people’s lives – said the UNODC Executive Director.
Earlier, in 2000, the Taliban had issued an order banning opium cultivation in Afghanistan. However, with the US invasion in 2001, the Taliban lost power. After that there was a massive increase in opium cultivation. A 37 percent increase in opium cultivation was recorded in 2020 alone. After the Taliban came back to power in 2021, opium cultivation was strictly banned.
#Opium #cultivation #Afghanistan #decreased #percent #report #Madhyamam
2023-11-07 07:11:29
