The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), with support from Italy, is promoting rose and saffron cultivation and processing in Afghanistan as alternative sources of income for farmers affected by the decline in opium poppy cultivation.
UNODC said Monday that the programme is being implemented in areas of Nangarhar and Herat provinces affected by poppy cultivation, with the aim of helping farming families develop alternative livelihoods and reduce their dependence on illicit crops.
In addition to supporting rose and saffron production and processing, the programme provides training in wool spinning, silk weaving and vegetable processing, according to UNODC. The activities are intended to expand income opportunities for communities in areas that have historically depended on poppy cultivation.
The initiative comes as Afghanistan’s opium economy has undergone a sharp contraction following the ban on poppy cultivation. UNODC estimated that opium poppy cultivation fell to about 10,200 hectares in 2025, down 20 percent from 12,800 hectares in 2024 and dramatically below the 232,000 hectares recorded in 2022.
UNODC also reported that farmers’ income from selling opium to traders fell by 48 percent in 2025 to about $134 million. Although farmers have increasingly replaced poppy with legal crops such as cereals, the UN agency said more than 40 percent of available farmland remained fallow because of limited profitable alternatives, weak agricultural output and adverse climate conditions.
The UN agency has previously warned that the loss of income from poppy cultivation can deepen economic vulnerability among rural households when alternative livelihoods are insufficient. Its Afghanistan roadmap identifies support for former poppy farmers as a key part of its counter-narcotics strategy.
UNODC said the new activities in Nangarhar and Herat are intended to help families build sustainable sources of income while contributing to efforts to reduce illicit poppy cultivation. The programme is being carried out with financial support from Italy.
