The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime assesses poppy cultivation in Afghanistan to have risen sharply in 2026, with the amount od land employed for the practice growing from around 10,000 hectares in 2025 to some 32,000-61,000 hectares in 2026, and with cultivation expanding from 11 of Afghanistan's provinces to 16 out of its total 34, according to the office's Afghanistan Opium Survey 2026 published on Oct. 29. The office assesses the uptick has likely been driven by, among other things, opium prices remaining far above pre-ban levels and farmers better eluding authorities' enforcement efforts.