The Taliban launched a campaign to clear Afghan fields of Poppy (video

Taliban-appointed officials to Herat province in western Afghanistan announced the start of a campaign against poppy cultivation. This was reported by TOLOnews on March 30.

“Hundreds of acres of land have already been cleared of poppy in different regions, our practice continues,” quotes Hayatullah Rouhani, head of the anti — narcotics department at Herat TV channel.

The campaign to destroy poppy fields began shortly before the harvest season. It is noted that the personnel of the Drug Control Department are accompanied by the Taliban special forces.

According to TOLOnews, the people of the Herat region called on the government to help grow alternative crops instead of drug plants.

Poppy eradication practices are also underway in the western Afghan provinces of Ghor and Bodghis, and in the Nimruz provinces in the southwest of the country.

After the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in August 2021, it announced its intention to fight the spread of poppy cultivation and opium in the country. Last April, the movement officially banned poppy cultivation throughout Afghanistan. Such an order was given by the Supreme Leader of the movement, Haibatulla Okhundzoda.

However, in late 2022, the United Nations Office on drugs and crime reported that during the Taliban, poppy production in Afghanistan increased by 32% and amounted to 233,000 hectares. According to the administration, the main arable land is in the southwestern provinces of Afghanistan-they account for 73% of the total area where Poppy is grown, where the greatest increase in productivity is observed.