The government has announced its annual licensing policy for poppy cultivation in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh for the 2025-26 crop year, while it also proposes incentives for high-performing farmers.
Nearly 1.21 lakh farmers are eligible to receive licenses this year – a 23.5 per cent rise in farmer licenses with the inclusion of 15,000 additional farmers over and above the previous crop year in these three states as supply of alkaloids to meet medical and palliative care needs continues to increase.
"The Union Government today announced the annual licensing policy for crop year 2025-26 during the Opium Crop Year from October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026, of license for cultivation of opium poppy, for the farmers in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh," a finance ministry statement said on Friday.
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While government efforts are underway to augment the narcotic drug processing capacity through indigenous and self-reliant measures, it also proposes to incentivise high-performing farmers who have achieved yields of 900 kg/hectare and above of unlanced poppy straw by offering them the option to switch to the traditional method of opium gum cultivation.
"This transition is intended to promote higher yields of opium from their holdings, while also serving as a positive reinforcement mechanism to reduce the risk of diversion from the field," the statement added.
Simultaneously, the government will suspend licenses for the crop year 2025-26 for farmers under CPS cultivation who failed to meet the prescribed Minimum Qualifying Yield (MQY) of 800 kg/hectare during the previous crop year (2024-25), it added.
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