More than 100 people have been arrested in northeastern Afghanistan for cultivating poppy, despite the Taliban’s ban on its production, local police reported on Sunday. The arrests took place in an area that has previously resisted the government’s ban on the crop, which has been a significant issue in the region.
In 2022, the Taliban, under the directive of Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, imposed a nationwide ban on poppy cultivation, which had made Afghanistan the world’s largest producer of the opium-producing crop. According to Shafiqullah Hafizi, director of the counter-narcotics department in Badakhshan province, “During an operation today, over a hundred individuals, including residents from various villages, were arrested while cultivating poppy.”
The arrested individuals were brought to the primary court of Badakhshan province for legal proceedings.
The Taliban’s poppy ban led to a dramatic 95 percent decline in poppy harvests in 2023, but the financial impact on farmers has been severe, as they have struggled to make up for lost income with alternative crops. Despite this, a report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in November noted a 19 percent increase in poppy production year-on-year. This shift has seen poppy cultivation move from the Taliban’s traditional strongholds in the south to the northeastern provinces, including Badakhshan.
In May, the Taliban’s crackdown on poppy production sparked a rare uprising in Badakhshan, where clashes between farmers and the Taliban’s eradication teams led to several deaths. With up to 80 percent of Afghanistan’s population relying on agriculture, the economic hardship caused by the ban has been devastating.
The UNODC has expressed concerns that the high prices for opium and the shortage of available opium may drive farmers to defy the ban, especially in areas outside of traditional poppy-growing regions, and even into neighboring countries. The UNODC and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) have called for international assistance to help farmers transition to alternative livelihoods, a request that the Taliban government has supported.
Following the poppy ban, the price of opium resin surged to around $730 per kilogram, compared to approximately $100 per kilogram before the ban. Meanwhile, Myanmar, embroiled in conflict between its military and opposition groups, has become the world’s largest producer of opium.
