05 Nov 2023 at 07:53
In Afghanistan, the cultivation of opium poppies has declined by as much as 95 percent since the Taliban imposed a ban in April 2022, according to a report published on Sunday by the United Nations Drugs and Crime Agency (UNODC).
Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have pledged to end illegal drug production in Afghanistan. So they banned the cultivation of the poppy plant, from which opium and heroin are made.
The UNODC report shows that poppy cultivation decreased from 233,000 cultivated hectares at the end of 2022 to 10,800 in 2023. Opium production fell from 6,200 tons to 333 tons in 2023. The estimated volume of exportable heroin this year is 24 to 38 tons, compared to 350 to 580 tons last year.
The UNODC warns of possible “humanitarian consequences for many vulnerable rural communities” due to the sudden contraction of Afghanistan’s opium economy, as growers now have to turn to much less profitable crops.
According to the UNODC, opium farmers’ incomes have fallen by 92 percent this year, which could have a major impact on the country’s already ailing economy. Last year, the poppy harvest accounted for almost a third of total agricultural production in Afghanistan, long the world’s largest opium producer.
Image: AFP
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2023-11-05 06:53:58
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