Govt to consider giving more opium poppy cultivation licences

The government will consider giving more licences this year for cultivation of opium poppy to farmers with track record, Finance Ministry said today.
The ministry notified the general conditions for grant of licence for cultivation of opium poppy in the crop year 2015-16. Opium poppy crop year begins on October 1 and ends on September 30 every year.
It fixed the average yield of opium during the crop year 2014-15 at 56 kg per hectare for cultivators in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and an average yield of opium of not less than 52 kg per hectare for Uttar Pradesh, an official statement said.

"The central government would consider issue of more licences to farmers this year with good performance in the past in light of proposed augmentation of capacity of the Government Opium and Alkaloid Works, adequate demand of opium for domestic and export purposes," it said.
These however would be conditioned upon farmers concerned having satisfied minimum yield and other conditions of the licensing policy of the relevant year.
"Such licenses, as and when issued, would be through an objective and transparent policy keeping in mind the interests of all the stakeholders.
"The policy would endeavour giving priority to traditional
cultivators who have been earlier granted licences for cultivation of opium poppy," the statement added.