The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said Sunday that opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan has plunged by an estimated 95 percent following a drug ban imposed by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in April last year.

According to a statement issued by UNODC, this sharp decline in the opiate economy in Afghanistan is expected to have “far-reaching consequences”. The agency highlighted the urgent need for enhanced assistance for rural communities, accompanied by alternative development support to build an opium free future for the people.

UNODC said opium cultivation fell across all parts of the country, from 233,000 hectares to just 10,800 hectares in 2023.

The decrease has led to a corresponding 95 percent drop in the supply of opium, from 6,200 tons in 2022 to just 333 tons in 2023.

The sharp reduction has had immediate humanitarian consequences for many vulnerable rural communities who relied on income from cultivating opium.

Farmers’ income from selling the 2023 opium harvest to traders fell by more than 92 percent from an estimated
$1,360 million for the 2022 harvest to $110 million in 2023.

“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,” said Ghada Waly, Executive
Director of UNODC.

“At the same time, there are important consequences and risks that need to be addressed for an outcome that is ultimately positive and sustainable, especially for the people of Afghanistan.

“Today, Afghanistan’s people need urgent humanitarian assistance to meet their most immediate needs, to absorb the shock of lost income and to save lives,” Waly added.

“And over the coming months, Afghanistan is in dire need of strong investment in sustainable livelihoods, to provide Afghan farmers with opportunities away from opium,” she said.

The strong contraction of the opium economy in 2023, is expected to affect Afghanistan’s economy on a larger scale.

Many farmers turned to cultivating wheat instead, with an overall increase of 160,000 hectares in cereal across a number of provinces.

While wheat cultivation may alleviate food insecurity to some extent, the crop generates much less income than opium, and farmers across four provinces, Farah, Kandahar, Nangarhar and Helmand, lost around $1 billion in potential income in 2023 by switching to wheat, UNODC said.

The agency stated that beyond Afghanistan, less heroin may lead to reduced trafficking and use – or it could spur the emergence of harmful alternatives, such as fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.

Trafficking in other drugs, namely methamphetamine, has surged in the region, UNODC stated.