Opium cultivation rose by 19 percent in Afghanistan this year, the UN reported Wednesday, despite a ban by the Islamic Emirate that almost eradicated the crop.
According to a new report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), there are currently 12,800 hectares of poppies being cultivated in Afghanistan.
UNODC explained that although poppy cultivation rose 19 percent despite the ban, the scale remains far below the previous high of 232,000 hectares before the April 2022 prohibition by the Islamic Emirate’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada.
UNODC also stated that the center of poppy cultivation has shifted and is now concentrated in northeastern provinces instead of in the south.
The agency stated that following the poppy ban, prices soared for the resin from which opium and heroin are made.
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During the first half of 2024, prices stabilized around $730 per kilogram, according to UNODC, compared to about $100 per kg before 2022.
For years Afghanistan was the world’s biggest supplier of opium and heroin.
Many farmers in Afghanistan, one of the poorest countries in the world, were hit hard financially by the ban and have not been able to reap the same profits from alternative crops.
Even legal crops are only a short-term solution, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG), “so the focus should be on job creation in non-farm industries”.
The UNODC and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) called for international support for farmers to transition to alternative crops and livelihoods, something the IEA government has requested.
This news is sourced from [Ariana News] and is for informational purposes only.
