Afghanistan’s opium poppy cultivation rose to 43,300 hectares in 2026, up from 10,200 hectares in 2025, according to a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime survey. The 325% increase reverses three years of sharp declines after the Taliban banned narcotics in April 2022. Cultivation was detected in 16 provinces, with northeastern Afghanistan accounting for 76% of the total. The Taliban rejected the UN estimate, citing its own figure of about 24,000 hectares. UNODC said it could not verify the authorities’ reported eradication figures.
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