Opium Poppy Licence Policy 2026-27: Check Who Can Apply, Minimum Morphine Yield Criteria, and Other Details:

The Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue has issued notification on rules for grant of licence for cultivation of opium poppy for production of opium gum for crop year 2026-27. The policy, dated October 23, 2026, will be in effect from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. It lays down the eligibility conditions for the cultivators, the maximum area permissible, the yield requirements for the next crop year and the provisions for excess cultivation.

1. Place of Cultivation

Opium poppy cultivation for producing opium gum through lancing will be permitted only in areas officially notified by the Central Government. Farmers can cultivate the crop only after obtaining a valid licence for an approved area.

2. Eligibility for Cultivation

Farmers who cultivated opium poppy during the 2025-26 crop year and achieved an average qualifying morphine yield of at least 4.4 kg per hectare will be eligible for a licence, subject to the other conditions in the notification.

Eligibility will also extend to farmers who fully ploughed back their poppy crops during the 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26 crop years under the supervision of the Central Bureau of Narcotics, provided they did not follow the same practice in 2022-23. Farmers whose appeals against licence refusals were accepted after the settlement deadline for 2025-26 will also qualify.

In cases where an eligible farmer has died, a person nominated by the deceased in Form No. 1 for the 2025-26 crop year may receive the licence. If no valid nomination exists, the District Opium Officer will determine an eligible legal heir after following the prescribed procedure.

3. Conditions of Licence

Farmers must meet specific conditions to obtain a licence-

• They should not have cultivated more land than permitted in 2025-26 beyond the allowable excess of 5%.

• They should not have also indulged in illegal cultivation of opium poppy or charge-sheeted before a competent court for an offense under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 or its rules.

• Additionally, farmers must not have violated departmental instructions issued by the Central Bureau of Narcotics or the Narcotics Commissioner during the 2025-26 crop year. Failure to meet these conditions may make a farmer ineligible for a licence.

4. Maximum Area

Every eligible farmer will be granted a licence to cultivate opium poppy on a maximum area of 0.10 hectare, in a single plot. The plot may cover land recorded under more than one revenue khasra number.

Farmers will also be allowed to lease land belonging to other people if they need additional land to meet the licensed area requirement. However, cultivation must remain within the area authorised under the licence.

For complete information, refer to the following notification-