Myanmar’s opium production was previously second only to Afghanistan. Myanmar overtook Afghanistan as the world’s biggest producer of opium in 2023. The United Nations has said Myanmar is mired in a \”polycrisis\” of mutually compounding conflict, poverty and environmental damage. In Myanmar’s fringes, ethnic armed groups, border militias and the military all vie for control of local resources and the lucrative drug trade. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates there are more than 3.5 million people displaced in Myanmar. But fleeing conflict zones to farm opium does not guarantee safety, says Aung Naing, a displaced poppy farmer in Pekon township of eastern Shan state. The crop is more costly to produce than rice — more labour intensive, requiring expensive fertilisers and with small yields. It is sold by Myanmar farmers for just over $300 per kilo in 2024, according to the UNODC, a small fraction of what it fetches on the international black market.