Afghan farmers have lost income of more than $1 billion from opium sales after the Taliban outlawed poppy cultivation, according to a report from the UN drugs agency on November 5. Afghanistan was the world’s biggest opium producer when the Taliban seized power in August 2021. They pledged to wipe out the country’s drug cultivation industry and imposed a formal ban in April 2022, dealing a heavy blow to hundreds of thousands of farmers and day laborers who relied on proceeds from the crop to survive. Opium cultivation crashed by 95 percent after the ban, the report said.
Afghan Farmers Have Lost $1 Billion Since Taliban Banned Poppy Cultivation
- By AP
Editors' Picks
Afghanistan/Pakistan Trending
1
Afghanistan's Taliban 'Here To Stay' As It Gains De Facto International Acceptance
2Taliban Bars Women Without A Burqa From Entering Hospitals In Afghanistan
3Afghanistan Pivots To Central Asia As It Seeks To End Economic Dependence On Pakistan
4At Least 27 Dead, Scores Injured As Earthquake Rocks Northern Afghanistan
5Taliban Says Peace Talks With Pakistan Collapse But Cease-Fire Will Hold
6No Burqa, No Health Care: Afghan Women Say Taliban Requiring Dress Code For Hospitals In Herat
7Crews Hunt For Survivors After Deadly Quake Strikes Afghanistan
8Survivors Of Afghanistan-Pakistan Conflict Describe Toll On Civilians
9Afghanistan-Pakistan Border Closure Disrupts Trade, Hikes Food Prices
10Afghan Capital Rocked By Explosions
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.
To find out more, click here.