Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Government on September 12 announced the annual licensing policy for the Opium Crop Year from October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026, under which nearly 1.21 lakh farmers in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh are eligible for the grant of licenses for opium poppy cultivation. This represents a 23.5 per cent increase over the number of licenses actually issued in the previous crop year. The policy thus brings approximately 15,000 additional farmers into the fold, who are expected to benefit from opium cultivation this year, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance.
“The Government continues to ensure an adequate supply of alkaloids to meet medical and palliative care needs. Concurrently, efforts are underway to augment processing capacity through indigenous and self-reliant measures, with a view to meeting the requirements of alkaloids for the production of essential narcotic drugs,” the statement said. Key features of the annual license policy include retention of existing opium gum cultivators who have achieved an average morphine yield (MQY-M) of 4.2 kg per hectare or above. Besides, existing opium gum cultivators with morphine yields between 3.0 kg and 4.2 kg per hectare are now eligible to cultivate unlanced poppy straw under the Concentrate of Poppy Straw method, with a five-year license validity.
Furthermore, the digitisation of cultivators’ data since 1995-96 has enhanced inclusivity, enabling marginal farmers from past years to access licenses by meeting the prescribed eligibility and relaxed criteria.
