'Farmers in 3 states likely to get opium poppy cultivation licence for 2023-24'

NEW DELHI: About 27,000 new farmers in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh are expected to get licence for cultivation of opium poppy for the 2023-24 crop year, an official statement said on Thursday.

The government on Thursday announced the annual licensing policy for crop year 2023-24 for cultivation of opium poppy, for farmers in the three states.

"Nearly 1.12 lakh farmers in these three states are anticipated to be given licences, with inclusion of 27,000 additional farmers over and above the previous crop year," the finance ministry said in the statement.

This is almost 2.5 times the average number of farmers given licenses during the five-year period ending 2014-15.

"This increase is with the objective to meet the increasing demand for pharmaceutical preparations for palliative care and other medical purposes, both domestically and internationally," the ministry said.

"It would further ensure that the alkaloid production meets domestic demand as well as the requirement of the Indian export industry," it added.

About 54,500 opium cultivators from Madhya Pradesh, 47,000 from Rajasthan and 10,500 from Uttar Pradesh would be eligible for the licence.

"The central government is consistently working on increasing the demand and processing capacity within the country. With an increase in demand and processing capacity, it is expected that the number of farmers given licences for cultivation of opium poppy shall increase to 1.45 lakh in coming three years," the ministry said.