Thread by @yogital

Thread - A BBC investigation in #Afghanistan has found a dramatic drop in opium poppy cultivation after the Taliban's ban on it. @Imo_Anderson @sanjayganguly & I went to multiple provinces & remote areas, in some parts farmers complied, where they defied, opium fields destroyed.

This is backed by findings of @AlcisGeo and @mansfieldintinc who have used satellite analysis and other research to conclude that opium cultivation could be down by as much 80% pan Afg, by more than 99% in opium heartland Helmand. Their map.

This has big global ramifications. 80% of the world’s opium used to come from Afghanistan. Nearly all the heroin sold in Europe is made from Afghan opium. Read more here - bbc.com/news/world-asi…

In Nangarhar, we had rare access to a Taliban anti-narcotics patrol. We met angry locals who say they’re going hungry - opium made them far more than crops like wheat can. Taliban go armed, in large numbers. There have been violent clashes, 1 civilian killed.

Farmers in Helmand, many who are now growing wheat, also told us they have been forced to take loans to fulfil basic needs – to buy food and clothes. But they don’t believe anyone will resist the ban, as this area is a Taliban stronghold.

We asked Taliban spokesman what they’re doing to help. He said intl community should help as heroin addiction is global problem. How can they when you’ve put their ops at risk by banning women from them, I asked. "Humanitarian matters shouldn’t be linked to political issues.

We met a farmer holding on to a small stash of harvest from last year. Each bag will earn him 5 times what he made before ban. He’s waiting for price to rise further so it can sustain his family longer. Experts say it'll take time for rise to reflect in street price of heroin.

Billions were spent by the US to destroy the opium trade iwhich they, the UN and others assert was a major source of funding for the Taliban. Taliban deny this. For now, they appear to have achieved what the West couldn’t. Amid widespread hunger, how long can they sustain it?