Taliban running campaign to eradicate poppy cultivation in Afghanistan
Afghan farmers harvest opium sap from a poppy field in the Gereshk district of Helmand province
Aiming to wipe out the country's massive production of opium and heroin, the Taliban is running a campaign to eradicate poppy cultivation in Afghanistan.
"We are committed to bringing poppy cultivation to zero," said Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor.
It comes after the Taliban issued an edict in early April banning poppy cultivation throughout the country.
Mullah Abdul Haq Akhund, the Taliban deputy interior minister for counternarcotics told The Associated Press in Helmand's provincial capital, Lashkar Gah that those violating the ban "will be arrested and tried according to Sharia laws in relevant courts."
He said the Taliban were in touch with other governments and non-governmental organizations to work out alternative crops for farmers.
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Despite billions of dollars spent by the US trying to stop poppy cultivation, production spiraled over the past 20 years.
Other than being the world's biggest opium producer, Afghanistan is also a major source of heroin in Europe and Asia.
Cut off from international funding in the wake of the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan's economy has collapsed and the ban will likely strike a heavy blow to millions of impoverished farmers and day laborers who rely on proceeds from the crop to survive.
Afghanistan, which has been suffering under its worst drought in years, is facing a humanitarian crisis with most of its population struggling to afford food.
Harvesting opium from the poppies can fetch $300 a month and villagers rely on it to borrow money for staples such as flour, sugar, cooking oil, and heating oil.
According to estimates by the UN's Office on Drugs and Crime, 177,000 hectares (438,000 acres) were planted with poppies in 2021, yielding enough opium to produce up to 650 tons of heroin.
The total value of Afghanistan's opiates production in 2021 was $1.8-$2.7 billion, up to 14 per cent of the country's GDP, exceeding the value of its legal exports, the UNODC said in its most recent report.
(With inputs from agencies)
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