Rules have been made stricter for opium farmers in the country. The central government has made major changes to the opium poppy license allocation and policy rules and increased the minimum morphine yield requirement. Following this new and stricter decision, farmers will now have to meet stricter standards of high productivity and quality to keep their licenses or get new leases. The main objective of the government’s move is to improve crop quality and morphine extraction capacity on the one hand and to strengthen administrative oversight to prevent illegal diversion of opium. This policy change is expected to have a direct impact on farmers’ performance and crop management in the country’s major opium-producing states.

The government changed the rules

The government has increased the minimum production limit of morphine for the 2026-27 crop year for farmers to get licenses for opium cultivation. Also, high targets have been set for farmers who want to continue farming in the coming years as well. Farmers growing poppy for opium will have to achieve a yield of at least 4.4 kg of morphine per hectare in the 2025-26 crop year to be eligible under the main eligibility category. In last year’s policy, this limit was 4.2 kg. To get a license in 2027-28, they have to achieve a yield of 5.9 kg of morphine per hectare in 2026-27. The Finance Ministry announced the annual licensing policy by issuing three notifications on October 23. It details eligibility conditions and areas permitted for cultivation for the crop year commencing October 1, 2026.

Where is opium used?

Opium cultivation is strictly controlled and its production is licensed by the central government. Opium and alkaloids are obtained from this plant, which are used in a variety of medicines including pain relief. This policy determines who can farm it, how much land can be used, and how much production is required to maintain viability in future years. For farmers cultivating non-lanced poppy for straw, the yield limit for eligibility in the current year has been fixed at 800 kg per hectare, based on production in 2025-26.