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opium farmers

Afghanistan has long had a history of opium poppy cultivation and harvest. Prior to the 2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Afghanistan's harvest produced more than 90% of illicit heroin globally, and more than 95% of the European supply. More land was used for opium in Afghanistan than for coca cultivation in Latin America. The country was the world's leading illicit drug producer from 2001 until 2024. In 2007, 93% of the non-pharmaceutical-grade opiates on the world market originated in Afghanistan. In 2019 Afghanistan still produced about 84% of the world market. This amounts to an export value of about US$4 billion, with a quarter being earned by opium farmers and the rest going to district officials, insurgents, warlords, and drug traffickers. In the seven years (1994–2000) prior to a Taliban opium ban, the Afghan farmers' share of gross income from opium was divided among 200,000 families.