The Helmand province of Afghanistan has been notorious for the cultivation of:

Helmand province, in southern Afghanistan, was for many years the world's largest opium-producing region. At its peak, it alone accounted for a very large share of Afghanistan's poppy cultivation, and Afghanistan supplied most of the world's illicit opium and heroin.

About Helmand province:

• It is the largest province of Afghanistan by area, with its capital at Lashkar Gah.
• It is crossed by the Helmand river, the longest river of Afghanistan, which flows south-west towards the Sistan basin on the Iran border.
• Irrigation canals built in the mid-20th century made large areas of desert cultivable; these later became major poppy-growing areas.

Why opium was grown there:

• Opium poppy gave farmers much higher returns than food crops such as wheat.
• Poppy needs relatively little water, can be stored easily and has a ready market through traffickers.

Recent changes:

• In April 2022, the Taliban authorities banned opium poppy cultivation.
• According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), poppy cultivation in Afghanistan fell sharply in 2023, by more than 90 per cent, with large declines in Helmand.
• As a result, Myanmar became the world's largest producer of opium in 2023.

The "Golden Crescent" and the "Golden Triangle":

• Golden Crescent: Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, a major region of illicit opium production and trafficking.
• Golden Triangle: the meeting point of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, another major opium-producing region.
• India lies between these two regions, which makes it vulnerable to drug trafficking.

Licit opium in India:

India is one of the few countries permitted under international conventions to grow opium poppy legally for medicinal purposes (to produce morphine, codeine and other medicines). It is grown under licence in parts of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Saffron is grown in western Afghanistan, around Herat, often promoted as an alternative crop to poppy.
• ✗Cotton is grown in northern Afghanistan and in parts of Helmand, but is not what the province is known for.
• ✗Pomegranates are famous in Kandahar province.