INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Opium growing rose by 19 percent in Afghanistan this year, the UN reported Wednesday, in spite of a restriction by the Islamic Emirate that
practically removed the crop.According to a new report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), there are presently 12,800
hectares of poppies being cultivated in Afghanistan.The 19 percent increase year-on-year remains far listed below the 232,000 hectares
cultivated when the IEA&& s supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada prohibited the crop in April 2022
UNODC also specified that the center of poppy growing has shifted and is now concentrated in northeastern provinces rather of in the
south.The company mentioned that following the poppy restriction, rates soared for the resin from which opium and heroin are made.During the
first half of 2024, rates stabilized around $730 per kg, according to UNODC, compared to about $100 per kg before 2022
For years Afghanistan was the world&& s greatest supplier of opium and heroin.Many farmers in Afghanistan, among the poorest countries
worldwide, were struck hard economically by the restriction and have not been able to reap the exact same benefit from alternative
crops.Even legal crops are just a short-term service, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG), && so the focus should be on task
development in non-farm markets&&
The UNODC and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) called for global assistance for farmers to transition to alternative crops
and livelihoods, something the IEA federal government has requested.The post Afghanistan poppy cultivation grows 19 percent regardless of
ban: UN initially appeared on Ariana News.
