Why do farmers in Myanmar and Afghanistan grow opium?

What in the World

• Episode: Why do farmers in Myanmar and Afghanistan grow opium?
• Website: What in the World
• Feed URL: https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/w13xtvrv.rss
• Duration: 00:16:04
• Published: 2023-12-20 16:17

Myanmar is now the world's largest producer of opium, overtaking Afghanistan. That’s after the Taliban banned the cultivation of opium poppies, which can be used to make heroin.

Growing opium is illegal in both counties, but that isn’t stopping all farmers from growing the crop.

Yogita Limaye, the BBC’s South Asia and Afghanistan correspondent, explains how the ban has impacted farmers who previously depended on opium to survive. And Soe Win Than, editor of the BBC Burmese Service, tells us how corruption and political instability in Myanmar have contributed to the growth in opium production.

Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: William Lee Adams, Baldeep Chahal, Benita Barden Editors: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks