Efforts to encourage Afghan farmers to grow alternative crops such as wheat and saffron have not been successful. AFP
A poppy field in Afghanistan's Kandahar province. The Taliban's supreme leader issued a decree on April 3 against the cultivation of poppies and other plants that can be used to make narcotics. AFP
Farmers work at a poppy plantation in a field in Kandahar on April 3, 2022. - The Taliban's supreme leader on April 3 ordered a ban on poppy cultivation in Afghanistan, warning that the hardline Islamist government would crack down on farmers planting the crop. (Photo by Javed TANVEER / AFP)
Poppy cultivation surged in the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand after the Taliban seized power in August 2021. AFP
A poppy farmer in Kandahar collects sap from the plants' seed capsules. The sap is the raw material for drugs such as opium, heroin and morphine. AFP
Taliban Second Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi, left, and Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani attend a ceremony to announce the ban on poppy cultivation. EPA
The Taliban deputy interior minister for counter-narcotics, Abdul Haq Hamkar, speaks at the ceremony in Kabul. EPA
Mr Haqqani arrives for the ceremony to announce the ban on poppy cultivation. EPA
The ban was announced as Afghan farmers began harvesting their poppy fields. AFP
Afghanistan accounts for 80 to 90 per cent of the world's opium and heroin production, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. AFP
Efforts to encourage Afghan farmers to grow alternative crops such as wheat and saffron have not been successful. AFP
A poppy field in Afghanistan's Kandahar province. The Taliban's supreme leader issued a decree on April 3 against the cultivation of poppies and other plants that can be used to make narcotics. AFP
Farmers work at a poppy plantation in a field in Kandahar on April 3, 2022. - The Taliban's supreme leader on April 3 ordered a ban on poppy cultivation in Afghanistan, warning that the hardline Islamist government would crack down on farmers planting the crop. (Photo by Javed TANVEER / AFP)
Poppy cultivation surged in the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand after the Taliban seized power in August 2021. AFP
A poppy farmer in Kandahar collects sap from the plants' seed capsules. The sap is the raw material for drugs such as opium, heroin and morphine. AFP
Taliban Second Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi, left, and Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani attend a ceremony to announce the ban on poppy cultivation. EPA
The Taliban deputy interior minister for counter-narcotics, Abdul Haq Hamkar, speaks at the ceremony in Kabul. EPA
Mr Haqqani arrives for the ceremony to announce the ban on poppy cultivation. EPA
The ban was announced as Afghan farmers began harvesting their poppy fields. AFP
Afghanistan accounts for 80 to 90 per cent of the world's opium and heroin production, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. AFP
Efforts to encourage Afghan farmers to grow alternative crops such as wheat and saffron have not been successful. AFP
