Taliban ban: The United Nations reported Wednesday that the cultivation of opium poppies in Afghanistan has increased by an estimated 19% in the second full year since the country's de facto Taliban authorities banned the crop, but cultivation remains far below pre-ban levels.

The resurgence comes after a dramatic 95% decline in 2023 when the ban nearly wiped out poppy cultivation throughout much of the impoverished South Asian nation, which has long been the world’s leading supplier of the raw material for heroin, according to the report from the U.N. Office of Drugs and Crime, or UNODC.

The Taliban outlawed the cultivation of narcotics nationwide in April 2022, months after sweeping back to power in Afghanistan, which led to a massive decline in opium poppy production.

The U.N. survey, published Wednesday, noted the ban remains largely effective.

"In 2024, the area under cultivation was estimated at 12,800 hectares, or 19% more than in 2023. Despite the increase, opium poppy cultivation is still far below the prior ban levels," the survey stated. It noted that an estimated 232,000 hectares were cultivated in the country in 2022.

The U.N. report said that the increase in Afghan poppy cultivation came with a geographic shift this year. "While southwest Afghanistan has traditionally been the country’s opium hub, 59% of opium cultivation this year has taken place in provinces in the northeast."

The survey indicated that dry opium prices have slightly stabilized in the first half of 2024, at around $730 per kilogram, saying that the price is several times higher than the long-standing pre-ban average of $100.

The U.N. report said that cultivation in northeastern Afghan provinces bordering Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan surged 381% this year to 7,563 hectares, four times the area cultivated in the southwest, the second-biggest producer. Most of the northeast's production was concentrated in Badakhshan, a mountainous Afghan province sharing an international border with China, Pakistan, and Tajikistan.

The survey warned that high prices and dwindling opium stocks in the country may tempt Afghan farmers to ignore the Taliban’s ban and potentially lead to a resurgence in poppy farming in areas outside traditional cultivation centers, including neighboring countries.

The U.N. stressed that Afghan farmers in the impoverished, war-torn South Asian nation urgently need sustainable economic opportunities to enhance their resilience and discourage them from relying on poppy cultivation.

"With opium cultivation remaining at a low level in Afghanistan, we have the opportunity and responsibility to support Afghan farmers to develop sustainable sources of income, free from illicit markets," said Ghada Waly, UNODC executive director.

"The women and men of Afghanistan continue to face dire financial and humanitarian challenges, and alternative livelihoods are urgently needed," Waly added.

Roza Otunbayeva, the head of the U.N. mission in Kabul, hailed the survey findings.

"This is important further evidence that opium cultivation has indeed been reduced, and this will be welcomed by Afghanistan’s neighbors, the region, and the world," Otunbayeva stated.

She also cautioned, however, that rural Afghan communities have lost a vital income source and urgently require international assistance to ensure a sustainable shift away from opium production. "If we want this transition to be sustainable … they desperately need international support."

Since the Taliban regained power in August 2021, following the withdrawal of the United States-led NATO forces after nearly two decades of involvement in the Afghan war, no country has formally recognized them as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan.

The fundamentalist de facto Afghan leaders have imposed their strict interpretation of Islamic law of Sharia, banning female education beyond the sixth grade and prohibiting most Afghan women from working in public and private sectors.

Restrictions on Afghan women and other human rights concerns have discouraged the international community from engaging with the Taliban in economic and development cooperation, although humanitarian assistance continues in a country where millions of people are in urgent need. VOA/SP