NEW DELHI -- Afghanistan's opium poppy farmers resumed cultivating the crop this month with apparent impunity, despite assurances from the Taliban that the country will not become a hotbed for the illegal drug trade.
"We've started planting poppy seeds for this year," said a farmer in the southern province of Helmand. "We're also growing wheat and corn, but poppies sell at a high price."
The farmer expects to harvest 20 kg of poppies in April. A grower can fetch about $50 per kilogram, more than 100 times above the asking price for wheat.
Poppies are used to make heroin and opium, though they can be grown for other purposes. After the Taliban took over the capital, Kabul, the group told reporters that Afghanistan would become a "narcotics-free country" under its watch.
The continuation of the drug trade threatens to deter foreign aid for Afghanistan, a vital source of revenue for the broken economy. But because the Taliban collect money from the poppy business, authorities appear to be tolerating it.
"The Taliban hasn't told me I can't grow poppies," the Helmand farmer said. "Many farmers who are struggling with their livelihoods are continuing to cultivate them."
"They have started planting poppies this month in multiple areas," said another farmer in neighboring Uruzgan Province. The Afghan government under deposed President Ashraf Ghani strictly monitored the poppy trade. Now that the Taliban have taken over, the poppies are being sold in vegetable markets, the farmer said.
A Taliban spokesperson told Nikkei the government policy concerning poppy cultivation is being deliberated. For poppy harvests to cease, farmers need an alternative source of income, the spokesperson said.
Black market traders are alleged to be working with the Taliban, paying off the new Afghan rulers to ensure safe distribution channels. Poppies are usually processed into narcotics in Afghanistan for sale along the borders with Iran, Pakistan and other countries.
A United Nations report in June lists "drug trafficking and opium poppy production, extortion, kidnapping for ransom, mineral exploitation and revenues from tax collection" as the Taliban's main sources of income. The annual revenue from those activities is estimated as high as $1.6 billion.
Last year, poppies were planted in 224,000 hectares across Afghanistan, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, roughly tripling the area cultivated prior to the U.S.-led invasion in 2001. The crop is being planted in 22 out of 34 Afghan provinces.
The Taliban also pledged to respect the rights of women during the news conference following the takeover of Kabul, yet girls are not allowed to attend schools. The international community has been wary of recognizing the Taliban-led interim government or restarting aid.
A failure to stop farmers from growing poppies will invite further international condemnation. At the end of September, Indian authorities seized 3 tons of heroin that originated from Afghanistan and was shipped through Iran, local media reported. The Taliban are suspected of involvement in the smuggling.