Poppy Cultivation More Than Doubled In Badakhshan

FAYZABAD, AFGHANISTAN - MAY 31: The opium sap from the bulb of the poppy plant is seen May 31, 2011 in Fayzabad, Badakhshan, Afghanistan. According to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) the cultivation of poppies in the Badakhshan region has more than doubled this season. Opium production in Afghanistan, still the greatest illicit opium producer in the world, has been on the rise since U.S. occupation started in 2001, with more land now being used for opium than for coca cultivation in Latin America. Currently 1kg of opium equals about U.S. $200. This amounts to an export value of about $4 billion, with a quarter being earned by opium farmers and the rest going to district officials, insurgents, warlords, and drug traffickers. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)