U.S. Report Finds Declines in Opium in Afghanistan

Note how cultivation of opium correlates with taliban activity. Embassy of Afghanistan

A report released today by the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) found that opium production in Afghanistan declined by 31 percent in 2008. The report also found that opium cultivation experienced a similar drop of 22 percent.

According to the 2008 U.S. Afghanistan Poppy Cultivation and Opium Production Estimate, opium production reached 5,500 metric tons in 2008, down from 8,000 metric tons in 2007. Additionally, poppy cultivation fell to 157,000 hectares in 2008, a decrease from the 202,000 hectares cultivated in 2007. The report declared that the number of provinces that are now poppy-free increased from 15 in 2007 to 18 in 2008 (of 34 provinces), and that opium poppy cultivation has all but been eradicated in most of Afghanistan’s North and East.

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