The Aporia
The Aporia
The Associated Press. (2026, October 29). UN reports a sharp rise in Afghanistan poppy cultivation despite a Taliban ban. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/world/asia/un-reports-a-sharp-rise-in-afghanistan-poppy-cultivation-despite-a-taliban-ban/article_db9b4e0b-de19-5c87-99d7-53c682153ad4.html
The Associated Press. “UN reports a sharp rise in Afghanistan poppy cultivation despite a Taliban ban.” Toronto Star, 29 Oct. 2026, https://www.thestar.com/news/world/asia/un-reports-a-sharp-rise-in-afghanistan-poppy-cultivation-despite-a-taliban-ban/article_db9b4e0b-de19-5c87-99d7-53c682153ad4.html.
The Associated Press. “UN reports a sharp rise in Afghanistan poppy cultivation despite a Taliban ban.” Toronto Star, October 29, 2026. https://www.thestar.com/news/world/asia/un-reports-a-sharp-rise-in-afghanistan-poppy-cultivation-despite-a-taliban-ban/article_db9b4e0b-de19-5c87-99d7-53c682153ad4.html.
Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported on October 29, 2026, that opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan more than quadrupled from 10,000 hectares in 2025 to 43,000 hectares in 2026 despite a ban imposed by the Taliban government. Estimated opium production also jumped fivefold from 300 tonnes to 1,500 tonnes over the same period. This surge marks the first significant increase since the Taliban banned narcotics in 2022, which previously reduced cultivation areas from more than 200,000 hectares.
Deepening poverty has driven some farmers back into cultivating opium poppy clandestinely because it is a lucrative crop compared to other less profitable alternatives. Mohammad, a 22-year-old farmer in Afghanistan’s northeast, told AFP that without opium farming, his family cannot even afford basic food. The Taliban authorities claim to have destroyed more than 22,000 hectares of poppy fields but UNODC notes many plots are concealed among cereal crops or behind walls, making them hard to detect.
