‘Poppy cultivation almost zero in Helmand’

KABUL (Pajhwok): Farmers in southern Helmand province have reduced poppy cultivation by more than 99 percent this year, according to a research study on Tuesday.

“This is extraordinary as Helmand typically produces more than half of the country’s opium each year. Across the country, there has been more than 80 percent decrease in opium production compared to last year – an unprecedented reduction,” Alcis Holding Group said in its report.

This reduction in opium poppy cultivation is unlikely to impact the supply of heroin from Afghanistan in the short term.

However, if low levels of opium poppy cultivation persist into next year, it will have a significant impact on the supply of heroin globally.

Through the pioneering use of satellite imagery and machine learning, we are identifying the different winter crops that were grown this year and in recent years.

The results allow us to generate maps of winter crop cultivation at a level of precision and accuracy that has never been done before across Afghanistan.

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