UNODC estimates that opium cultivation in Afghanistan has increased by 19% during the second year of the drugs ban

The increase follows on a 95 per cent decrease in cultivation during the 2023 crop season, when the de-facto Authorities of Afghanistan enforced a ban that virtually eliminated poppy cultivation across much of the country. Despite the increase in 2024, opium poppy cultivation remains far below 2022, when an estimated 232,000 hectares were cultivated.