Afghanistan opium production jumps fivefold as farmers find ways round Taliban ban — UN News

Opium production in Afghanistan has risen fivefold in a year. According to a UN survey released on Thursday, it’s the first significant increase since the Taliban banned poppy cultivation in 2022. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) found that the area planted with opium poppy grew by 330 per cent, to more than 43,000 hectares, up from about 10,000 hectares in 2025. Estimated production rose by 400 per cent, from about 300 tonnes to just under 1,500 tonnes. Both figures remain well below levels before the ban, when some 232,000 hectares were under cultivation. For decades, Afghanistan was the world’s biggest source of illicit opium. Before the ban, it accounted for around 80 per cent of global supply. The Taliban seized power in August 2021. In April 2022, they outlawed poppy cultivation and all narcotics, citing religious grounds. The de facto authorities say they eradicated 22,000 hectares of poppy this year. But UNODC said many farmers appear to have adapted to evade enforcement. Some are hiding small plots within cereal fields or inside walled compounds. Others are planting and harvesting at staggered intervals to avoid detection. “The fourfold increase in opium poppy cultivation shows the difficulty in sustaining decreases in illicit opium cultivation when poor farmers have no alternatives to feed their families,” said UNODC Executive Director Monica…