UN agency issues urgent call to action as Afghan opium cultivation hits record high --- 13 November 2013 – The head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) today issued an urgent call to action as opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan hit a record high this year, rising by 36 per cent, while production is up by almost half since 2012. -- The 2013 Afghanistan Opium Survey, released in Kabul by the Ministry of Counter Narcotics and UNODC, says the area under cultivation rose to 209,000 hectares (ha) from last year’s total of 154,000 ha – higher than the peak of 193,000 ha reached in 2007. -- In addition, two provinces – Balkh and Faryab – lost their ‘poppy-free’ status, leaving 15 provinces poppy-free this year compared with 17 last year. - More, UN