Afghan opium poppy cultivation quadruples despite Taliban ban, UN says
The UN estimates that cultivation rose to about 43,000 hectares in 2026. The Taliban disputes the figure, while farmers describe difficulty replacing lost income.
Afghanistan’s opium poppy cultivation more than quadrupled in 2026 despite the Taliban government’s ban, according to a UN estimate reported by dawn.com on October 29. The rise matters for farmers struggling to replace poppy income and for authorities trying to sustain a ban imposed in 2022.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimated that cultivation reached about 43,000 hectares, up from 10,000 hectares in 2025, dawn.com reported. Estimated opium production rose from 300 tonnes to 1,500 tonnes. Reuters gave the cultivation estimate as 43,300 hectares, based on UN analysis of satellite imagery. Reuters also reported that the Taliban rejected the UN estimate, put actual cultivation at about half that figure and said eradication was continuing.
How the ban changed cultivation
The Taliban’s 2022 crackdown had reduced cultivation from more than 200,000 hectares to 10,000 hectares by 2025, according to AFP. Taliban authorities say they have destroyed more than 22,000 hectares of poppies. UNODC said some plots are concealed among cereal crops or behind walls, making them difficult to detect. Reuters reported that Balkh province, which UNODC found to be poppy-free in 2025, had poppy cultivation again in 2026.
Why replacing poppy income is difficult
In Balkh, farmer Mohammad Dawood told Reuters he was still observing the ban but, on a bad day, earned one-fortieth of what he used to earn from poppy. More than four in five households surveyed by UNODC in Balkh and two nearby provinces in 2025 said they had replaced none or only part of their lost poppy income, Reuters reported.
Farmers interviewed by Reuters in Baba Yusuf said wheat barely covered its costs. Landowner Gul Nazar said drought had reduced fresh water in nearby fields and briny well water damaged crops. He said cotton prices had fallen by about two-thirds amid a nationwide glut. The accounts describe pressures in those communities; they do not establish a single cause for the national increase.
UNODC Executive Director Monica Juma said the fourfold rise showed how difficult it was to sustain lower cultivation when poor farmers lacked other ways to feed their families, according to AFP. The Taliban government acknowledged that the ban was not a sustainable long-term solution without alternative livelihoods and economic support for farmers, AFP reported.
What alternative livelihoods would require
Polleak Ok Serei, UNODC’s country representative in Afghanistan, told AFP that farmers needed access to markets, roads, irrigation and storage as well as alternative crops. He said UNODC estimated in 2025 that the effort would require about $500 million, but only 10% had been funded by donors and the Taliban authorities. Reuters separately quoted him saying many farmers had little choice but to return to poppy cultivation.
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Sources and context
- Afghanistan opium poppy cultivation surges despite Taliban govt ban: UNDawn, reporting AFP
- Taliban’s poppy ban falters as Afghan farmers say they can't feed their childrenThe Straits Times, reporting Reuters
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.