Afghan Opium Poppy Cultivation Increased During U.S. Occupation
The Taliban had long relied on opium poppy cultivation to fund its resistance against the U.S. occupation. In 2023, they implemented a nearly total ban on cultivation, mirroring their successful ban in 2001.
This bar chart shows Afghanistan's estimated annual opium poppy cultivation measured in hectares from 1994 to 2023. The data reveals that the Afghan opium poppy cultivation increased during the U.S. occupation. The Taliban used opium poppy to finance resistance to U.S. occupation. Notably, in 2001, poppy cultivation crashed when the U.S. invaded Afghanistan, and then again in 2023 following a near total ban by the Taliban.
