Current:Home > StocksAfghan farmers lose income of more than $1 billion after the Taliban banned poppy cultivation-InfoLens
Afghan farmers lose income of more than $1 billion after the Taliban banned poppy cultivation
View Date:2024-12-23 11:13:06
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Afghan farmers have lost income of more than $1 billion from opium sales after the Taliban outlawed poppy cultivation, according to a report from the U.N. drugs agency published Sunday.
Afghanistan was the world’s biggest opium producer and a major source for heroin in Europe and Asia when the Taliban seized power in August 2021.
They pledged to wipe out the country’s drug cultivation industry and imposed a formal ban in April 2022, dealing a heavy blow to hundreds of thousands of farmers and day laborers who relied on proceeds from the crop to survive. Opium cultivation crashed by 95% after the ban, the report from the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime said.
Until 2023, the value of Afghanistan’s opiate exports frequently outstripped the value of its legal exports. U.N. officials said the strong contraction of the opium economy is expected to have far-reaching consequences for the country as opiate exports before the ban accounted for between 9-14% of the national GDP.
Afghans need urgent humanitarian assistance to meet their most immediate needs, absorb the shock of lost income and save lives, said UNODC executive director, Ghada Waly.
“Afghanistan is in dire need of strong investment in sustainable livelihoods to provide Afghans with opportunities away from opium,” she said.
Afghans are dealing with drought, severe economic hardship and the continued consequences of decades of war and natural disasters.
The downturn, along with the halt of international financing that propped up the economy of the former Western-backed government, is driving people into poverty, hunger, and addiction.
A September report from the UNODC said that Afghanistan is the world’s fastest-growing maker of methamphetamine, with seizures of the synthetic drug increasing as poppy cultivation shrinks.
Lower incomes along the opiate supply chain could stimulate other illegal activities like the trafficking of arms, people or synthetic drugs, the most recent UNODC report said.
veryGood! (56518)
Related
- QTM Community Introduce
- Who were the Russian prisoners released in swap for Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich?
- AP Decision Notes: What to expect in the Kansas state primaries
- Who were the Russian prisoners released in swap for Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich?
- Brian Austin Green’s Fiancée Sharna Burgess Celebrates Megan Fox’s Pregnancy News
- Rent paid, but Team USA's Veronica Fraley falls short in discus qualifying at Paris Games
- Every M. Night Shyamalan movie (including 'Trap'), ranked from worst to best
- Baseball team’s charter bus catches fire in Iowa; no one is hurt
- Statue of the late US Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights icon, is unveiled in his native Alabama
- Hall of Fame Game winners, losers: Biggest standouts with Bears vs. Texans called early
Ranking
- Former Disney Star Skai Jackson Is Pregnant, Expecting First Baby With Her Boyfriend
- California dad missing for nearly 2 weeks after mysterious crash into street pole
- Harvard appoints Alan Garber as president through 2026-27 academic year
- When does the Pumpkin Spice Latte return to Starbucks? Here's what we know.
- Republican David Schweikert wins reelection in affluent Arizona congressional district
- Surviving the inferno: How the Maui fire reshaped one family's story
- Cardi B asks court to award her primary custody of her children with Offset, divorce records show
- Horoscopes Today, August 2, 2024
Recommendation
-
Mason Bates’ Met-bound opera ‘Kavalier & Clay’ based on Michael Chabon novel premieres in Indiana
-
Jury reaches split verdict in baby abandonment case involving Dennis Eckersley’s daughter
-
Mariah Carey’s Rare Update on Her Twins Monroe and Moroccan Is Sweet Like Honey
-
Video shows explosion at Florida laundromat that injured 4; witness reported smelling gas
-
Mega Millions winning numbers for November 8 drawing: Jackpot rises to $361 million
-
Cardi B asks court to award her primary custody of her children with Offset, divorce records show
-
DOJ finds 5 Texas juvenile detention centers abused children
-
I Tried This Viral Brat Summer Lip Stain x Chipotle Collab – and It’s Truly Burrito-Proof