NEW DELHI: A crackdown by the interim Afghan government has resulted in a massive reduction in opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan.
Opium cultivation fell across all parts of the country, from 233,000 hectares to just 10,800 hectares in 2023, leading to a corresponding 95 per cent drop in the supply of opium, from 6,200 tonnes in 2022 to just 333 tonnes in 2023, a study by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) found.
A natural substance extracted from poppy is used in making heroin.
“This presents a real opportunity to build towards long-term results against the illicit opium market and the damage it causes both locally and globally,“ Ghada Waly, executive director of UNODC, said in a statement on Sunday.
The Taliban ousted the Western-backed regime of Ashraf Ghani in August 2021.
Afghanistan under the previous regime was a major contributor to the global illicit drug trade.
Its illicit opium production in 2022 accounted for 80 per cent of the estimated global production of 7,800 tonnes, according to UN data.
The new rulers imposed a ban on drug cultivation in April 2022 as Islam prohibits trade and consumption of narcotics. Those violating the prohibition face strict punishment. -Bernama
