Opium production in Afghanistan has risen fivefold in a year. According to a UN survey released on Thursday, it’s the first significant increase since the Taliban banned poppy cultivation in 2022. © Adobe Stock/Venelin Petkov Opium is harvested in eastern Afghanistan. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) found that the area planted with opium poppy grew by 330 per cent, to more than 43,000 hectares, up from about 10,000 hectares.