The Ministry of Finance has officially notified the annual licensing policy for opium poppy cultivation for the crop year 2025-26. The policy, effective from October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026, specifies the cultivation tracts and sets detailed eligibility criteria for licenses across four states.
The policy distinguishes between two methods of cultivation: for opium gum (lancing) and for poppy straw (unlanced), with different conditions for each. All three of these notifications were issued on September 11, 2025.
Approved Cultivation Tracts
The Central Government has notified specific districts and tehsils in four states as the designated tracts for cultivation:
- Madhya Pradesh: Mandsaur, Neemuch, Ratlam, Agar Malwa, Ujjain, Jhabua, and Rajgarh.
- Rajasthan: Kota, Baran, Jhalawar, Chittorgarh, Pratapgarh, Udaipur, Bhilwara, and Shahpura.
- Uttar Pradesh: Barabanki, Lucknow, Faizabad, Shahjahanpur, Budaun, Bareilly, Ghazipur, Mau, and Rai Bareilly.
- Uttarakhand: Udham Singh Nagar and Dehradun.
The notification also permits cultivation on an “experimental” basis at several research and academic institutions within these states.
Licensing Conditions for Opium Gum (Lancing)
Cultivators of opium poppy for the purpose of extracting opium gum through lancing must meet specific eligibility criteria for a license:
- Existing Cultivators: Those who cultivated opium poppy in the 2024-25 crop year and achieved a Minimum Qualifying Yield (MQY-M) of not less than 4.2 kg of morphine per hectare are eligible.
- Other Cultivators: Eligibility is also extended to cultivators who had to plow back their crops in previous years and those who were eligible for a license in 2024-25 but did not obtain one for any reason.
- Forewarning: The policy includes a forewarning that a higher MQY of 5.9 kg of morphine per hectare will be required during the 2025-26 crop year for eligibility for the following year’s license.
Licensing Conditions for Poppy Straw (Unlanced)
A separate set of conditions applies to cultivators of opium poppy for the production of poppy straw, from which no juice is extracted:
- Existing Cultivators: Cultivators from the 2024-25 crop year who tendered an average yield of 800 kg per hectare or more of unlanced poppy straw are eligible. Cultivators who fell below this yield will have their licenses suspended for the 2025-26 crop year but will remain eligible for future years.
- Transitioning Cultivators: Cultivators who previously produced opium gum but had a morphine yield between 3.0 kg and 4.2 kg per hectare are now eligible for this type of cultivation.
- Long-Term Licenses: A key provision of this policy grants a license for five crop years to cultivators who are newly eligible to produce poppy straw, providing them with long-term certainty.
- Forewarning: A new average yield of 900 kg per hectare of unlanced poppy straw will be required during the 2025-26 crop year for eligibility for a license in 2026-27.
The maximum area for cultivation is set at 0.10 hectares for opium gum and 0.05 hectares for poppy straw, with cultivators permitted to lease land to make up the licensed area. The policy is designed to ensure a stable and legally regulated supply of alkaloids for medical purposes while maintaining strict control over cultivation.