Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan quadruples despite the Taliban ban as farmers say their children are malnourished, UN reports

Afghan opium production has jumped nearly fivefold in a single year, reaching an estimated 1,500 tonnes in 2026, according to a UN Office on Drugs and Crime report published Thursday. The cultivated area grew by 330%, surpassing 43,000 hectares, as desperate farmers conceal poppy plots inside cereal fields and walled compounds to evade Taliban enforcement. UNODC executive director Monica Juma warned that without alternative livelihoods, the ban cannot hold.

Badakhshan province alone saw cultivation surge 344%, now accounting for 76% of Afghanistan's total poppy output.

Farmer Mohammad Dawood, 28, says his children are malnourished since switching to cotton and wheat — earning one-fortieth of his former poppy income.

UNODC's country representative said many farmers 'don't have any other choice than to go back to poppy cultivation' despite Taliban eradication of 22,000 hectares this year.