(CNN) Afghanistan has seen a dramatic surge in the production of opium this year, according to a new United Nations report.

Poor security conditions have led to a 43% rise in production of the illicit crop from 2015, with 4,800 metric tons produced this year, according to the Afghanistan Opium Survey 2016 compiled by the UN.

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Yury Fedotov, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, said the new report shows a worrying reversal in efforts to combat the persistent problem of illicit drugs and their impact on development.

The main reason for the increase, according to Mohammad Hanif Danishyar, spokesman for Afghanistan's Ministry of Counter-Narcotics, was the deteriorating security situation in parts of the country, which meant that eradication plans could not be implemented,

Eradication teams in Afghanistan who monitor and destroy the growth of poppy have come under direct attack from farmers and insurgents, who want to protect what to them is a lucrative cash crop.

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