KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Opium cultivation in Afghanistan, long the world’s leading supplier of raw material for heroin, increased by 19% in the second year of the Taliban’s drug ban, according to a UN report.
In a report released on Wednesday, November 6, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) stated that approximately 12,800 hectares of poppies were cultivated in Afghanistan in 2024, up from 10,900 hectares the previous year.
“Despite the increase, opium poppy cultivation is still far below the prior-ban levels. In 2022 an estimated 232,000 ha were cultivated,” the UN said.
The report also noted that the Taliban’s ban has caused a spike in opium prices, reaching around $730 per kilogram, up from about $100 per kilogram before the ban.
Afghanistan, once the world’s largest producer of opium, supplied over 80% of the global market and was a major source of heroin in Europe and Asia. The UN estimated that Afghan opiates generated between $1.8 and $2.7 billion in 2021, making up 6% to 11% of the country’s GDP.
In April 2022, Taliban supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada issued a decree strictly prohibiting the cultivation of poppy, the primary source of opium used in heroin production. “Anyone violating the ban would have their field destroyed and be penalized according to Sharia law.”
Following the ban, the UNODC reported a significant 95% drop in the supply of opium, from 6,200 tons in 2022 to just 333 tons in 2023.
The UN’s new report indicates that the center of poppy cultivation has shifted from southern Afghanistan, where the majority of opium was previously grown, to the northeastern provinces.
According to the report, Badakhshan province in the northeast recorded the highest cultivation, with 7,408 hectares (59%) this year. Cultivation was also reported in the provinces of Badghis, Kandahar, Helmand, and Faryab, each with less than 1,000 hectares.
The UNODC and the UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) called for international support to help farmers transition to alternative crops and livelihoods, as the Taliban has been unable to provide alternatives for the tens of thousands of farmers who rely on the drug trade for survival.
“With opium cultivation remaining at a low level in Afghanistan, we have the opportunity and responsibility to support Afghan farmers to develop sustainable sources of income free from illicit markets,” said UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly.
“The women and men of Afghanistan continue to face dire financial and humanitarian challenges, and alternative livelihoods are urgently needed,” she added.
The head of UNAMA, Roza Otunbayeva, was quoted by the UN as saying, “This data confirms that opium cultivation has indeed declined, a development that will be welcomed by Afghanistan’s neighbors and the broader region.”
“But we must also recognize that rural Afghan communities have lost a major income source amid many other economic pressures. If we want this transition to be sustainable, these communities urgently need international support,” she added.
