Opium farming in Afghanistan has dropped significantly following a ban imposed by the Taliban government in 2022, the United Nations said.

The total area of land for growing opium poppy shrank 20% since last year, while the amount of opium has fallen by 32% over the same period, the UN's Office on Drugs and Crime said in a survey.

Afghanistan used to produce more than 80% of the world's opium, with heroin made from Afghan opium making up 95% of the market in Europe.

But after retaking power, the Taliban banned the practice in April 2022, saying opium was harmful and went against their religious beliefs. The UN said most farmers continued to observe the ban despite severe economic challenges.

Many Afghan farmers are harvesting cereals, but poppy - from which opium, the key ingredient for the drug heroin can be extracted - continues to be far more profitable than legitimate crops, the UNODC noted.

Over 40% of available farmland has remained fallow due to the lack of profitable alternatives, limited agricultural outputs, and adverse climate conditions.

The total area under opium poppy cultivation this year was estimated at 10,200 hectares, mostly in the north-east of the country, with Badakhshan province accounting for the largest share. Before the 2022 ban, more than 200,000 hectares were under poppy cultivation in Afghanistan.

Four provinces with opium poppy cultivation in 2024 (Balkh, Farah, Laghman, Uruzgan) were declared opium poppy-free in 2025.

The Taliban's efforts to destroy opium fields occasionally sparked violent resistance from farmers, particularly in the north-east, with reported casualties during clashes in several districts of Badakhshan.

The vast majority of Afghan farmers adhere to the ban issued by the Taliban's supreme leader. However, farmers say they lack support to grow alternative crops - a situation that forces them to choose between poverty or punishment.

If we violate the ban, we face prison. If we comply, we face destitution, one unnamed farmer in Helmand told BBC Pashto this summer.

While opium is in decline, trafficking in synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine has risen since the ban, with the UNODC noting that seizures of these drugs were 50% higher in late 2024 compared to the previous year.