UN Warns of Sharp Afghan Poppy Increase as Taliban Ban Fails to Stop Cultivation

KABUL, Afghanistan — The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said Thursday that opium cultivation and production in Afghanistan rose sharply over the past year, marking the first significant increase since the Taliban authorities imposed a ban on narcotics in 2022.

The agency said the rise was driven by deepening poverty, which it said led some farmers to cultivate opium illicitly. It urged the international community to provide greater support to farming communities in efforts to curb reliance on illegal crops.

Afghanistan was the world’s largest opium producer and a major source of heroin in Europe and Asia when the Taliban seized power in August 2021. The group pledged to wipe out the country’s drug cultivation industry and issued a formal ban in April 2022, dealing a heavy blow to hundreds of thousands of farmers and day laborers who relied on crop proceeds to survive.

The U.N. agency said cultivation was up 330% and production rose by 400% compared with the previous year. Cultivation increased to more than 43,000 hectares (106,000 acres) in 2026 from 10,000 hectares (24,700 acres) a year earlier, the agency said.

Farmers were concealing small poppy plots within cereal fields or inside walled compounds to evade detection, the report said.

“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,” the agency’s executive director, Monica Juma, said in a statement.

“The (Taliban authorities) and the international community need to work together to support farming communities by investing in livelihoods, farming infrastructure and access to markets,” she added.

The U.N. agency said that while cultivation and production remained below levels prior to the 2022 narcotics ban, the increase was the highest since the ban came into effect. The agency said continued monitoring was required, as it was too early to determine whether the increase was temporary or an indication of a resurgence in opium cultivation and production.

Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said on Tuesday that the fight against narcotics was one of the Taliban administration’s greatest achievements. He also said the international community had a role to play in keeping the drug issue under control.

“An effective fight against this phenomenon is a shared responsibility of both Afghanistan and the international community,” Muttaqi said. “It is essential, alongside security measures, to support alternative livelihoods for farmers, provide treatment for those struggling with addiction, and enhance regional and international cooperation against drug-trafficking networks.”

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