Afghanistan opium poppy provide plummets 95% after Taliban ban – U.N.

Nov 5 (Reuters) – Opium poppy manufacturing in Afghanistan, beforehand the world’s high provider, has plummeted because the Taliban administration banned the cultivation of narcotics final yr, a United Nations report mentioned on Sunday.

The U.N. Workplace on Medicine and Crime (UNODC) mentioned opium cultivation fell all through the nation to only 10,800 hectares (26,700 acres) in 2023 from 233,000 hectares the earlier yr, slashing provide by 95% to 333 tons.

This was placing strain on farmers within the war-torn nation, the place most individuals rely upon agriculture and the worth of poppy exports had at instances outstripped the worth of all formal exported items, UNODC mentioned.

The sharp decline might have main penalties for the economic system in a rustic the place round two-thirds of the inhabitants are already in want of humanitarian support, the report mentioned.

“Over the approaching months Afghanistan is in dire want of robust funding in sustainable livelihoods to offer Afghan farmers with alternatives away from opium,” Ghada Waly, the manager director of UNODC, mentioned in an announcement.

“This presents an actual alternative to construct in direction of long-term outcomes in opposition to the illicit opium market and the injury it causes each domestically and globally.”

The massive contraction in provide from Afghanistan – estimated to provide round 80% of the world’s unlawful opium – might finally result in a drop in opium use internationally, but it surely additionally risked escalating the worldwide use of options corresponding to fentanyl or artificial opioids, the UNODC mentioned.

The Taliban’s supreme religious chief banned the cultivation of narcotics in April 2022, and the inside ministry mentioned it could destroy any remaining crops. Throughout their earlier rule, the Taliban in 2000 banned poppy cultivation as they sought worldwide legitimacy however confronted widespread a backlash, in keeping with specialists.

Lots of the provinces the place the Taliban has traditionally had excessive ranges of assist, corresponding to southern Helmand, have a big focus of opium poppy cultivation. The UNODC mentioned many farmers had switched to rising wheat however that this earned considerably lower than poppy.

Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Belief Rules.