The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says the amount of opium produced in Afghanistan has dropped by almost half compared to last year.
Andrey Avetisyan is the UN agency’s regional representative. He says Afghanistan produced 3,300 tons of opium this year as compared to 6,400 tons last year. He spoke to reporters on Wednesday in Kabul, the Afghan capital.
Officials say one reason for the sharp drop is better cooperation between law enforcement agencies and Afghan policy makers. They also say less land is being used to grow opium poppy plants. And they say growers are harvesting fewer poppies for every hectare they plant. Opium is a drug made from the dried opium poppy plant. The drug is illegal in many countries. The reported drop in production comes after years of rising production levels in Afghanistan.
