Afghan opium cultivation booming."It is a significant increase from last year.... Unfortunately, it is a record year." A senior U.S. official based in Kabul Kabul (kä`b  l, kəb l`), city (1997 est. pop. 1,500,000), capital of Afghanistan and of Kabul prov. spoke only on condition of anonymity as he acknowledged a 40 percent increase in opium opium, substance derived by collecting and drying the milky juice in the unripe seed pods of the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum. Opium varies in color from yellow to dark brown and has a characteristic odor and a bitter taste. cultivation cultivation, tilling or manipulation of the soil, done primarily to eliminate weeds that compete with crops for water and nutrients. Cultivation may be used in crusted soils to increase soil aeration and infiltration of water; it may also be used to move soil to or from 2005, even though hundreds of millions in counternarcotics funds have been spent.
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