UN: As Opium Cultivation in Afghanistan Falls, Synthetic Drug Trade Surge
Tawazon – The United Nations said that opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan has fallen by 20 per cent compared to last year. However, the UN warns that while opium production has dropped, the region now faces new challenges from synthetic drugs and shifting trafficking routes.
According to a new report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released on Thursday, November 6, only 10,200 hectares were used for opium cultivation this year, down from 12,800 hectares in 2024 and far below the 232,000 hectares recorded before the Taliban imposed a nationwide cultivation ban in 2022.
Opium production itself has dropped even more steeply, falling by almost a third to 296 tons, and farmer’s income from opium sales has almost halved over the period.
In the report, UNODC stresses the need to combine eradication efforts with support for alternative livelihoods and demand-reduction measures.
The report highlights that while many Afghan farmers have shifted to legal crops such as cereals, worsening climate conditions have left more than 40 per cent of farmland barren. Meanwhile the return of some four million Afghans from neighbouring countries has added pressure on jobs and resources, increasing fears that economic desperation could once again drive people toward illicit cultivation.
With UNODC’s support, thousands of farmers, including Zahoor, a farmer from Nangarhar have successfully transitioned from opium poppy t legal farming. Their efforts are described by UNODC as “turning the land into a source of hope and sustainable income,” contributing to both community resilience and global drug control.
However, the report warns of the rapid rise of synthetic drug production, especially methamphetamine. Seizures in and around Afghanistan increased by 50 per cent by late 2024, suggesting that criminal networks are shifting to substances that are easier to manufacture, harder to detect and less affected by climate shocks.
Georgette Gagnon, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan and Officer-in-Charge of the UN political mission in the country (UNAMA), says that the problem extends beyond Afghanistan’s borders:“Afghanistan’s drug problem is not confined to its borders. The dynamics of supply, demand, and trafficking involve both Afghan and international actors. Addressing this challenge requires collaboration among key stakeholders.”
The UNODC calls for counternarcotics strategies that extend beyond opium, integrating synthetic drugs into monitoring, interdiction, and prevention efforts.
