There are only a few areas in India where legal opium poppy cultivation is allowed.
Thousands of farming families in Madhya Pradesh’s Malwa region and Rajasthan’s Mewar region sow the crop on small plots of land under licenses issued by the Union government. Farming usually begins as the Deepavali festivities draw to a close.
This region produces almost 85% of India’s legally grown opium. The districts include Mandsaur, Neemuch and parts of Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh and Pratapgarh, Chittorgarh and parts of Kota and Jhalawar districts in Rajasthan.
Cultivation practices in the region have been passed down from generation to generation, with some families cultivating it for over 200 years.
Locally called afeem, opium is tied to family traditions and prestige with the popular saying – afeem ka patta ladke se badhkar hai (the license of opium is greater than the son).
Farmers say the license also helps their children’s marriage prospects.
Farming requires skilled labor, plant care, and field and yield protection. Across villages in Mandsaur, Neemuch and Jaora tehsils of Ratlam, small plots of land can be seen protected by fencing and saris used as covers and nets covering the plots from above.
Licensing, enforcement and procurement is managed by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CBN), which issues licenses of two types. Under the opium gum licence, farmers can extract the latex by digging the poppy pod, while under the concentrate poppy straw (CPS) licence, the CBN procures the dehusked pod and poppy straw directly.
The crops are usually harvested in March after Holi.
Lyrics by Mehul Malpani
Photo: AM Faruqui
Petals and Patience: Poppy flowers bloom in a poppy field in January. Cultivation usually begins after Deepavali ends in March after Holi.
Photo: SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP
Shoot propagation: Plants of the opium-producing poppy, Papaver somniferum, planted in a field in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh.
Photo: AM Faruqui
Field of dreams: A farm owner overseeing the spears in her opium field in Bahi village of Mandsaur district.
Photo: AM Faruqui
Ready to draw: Poppy capsules after the first round of latex extraction. The latex can be extracted three or four times, with the first product being the purest.
Photo: AM Faruqui
Sharp Blade: Traditional knives and tools that were used to dig poppy pods and collect opium latex.
Photo: AM Faruqui
Veiled Vigilance: Full-grown poppy pods in a netted opium field.
Photo: AM Faruqui
Uninvited guests: Nilgais in a field in Madhya Pradesh’s Neemuch district. Farmers have to take various safety measures to prevent them from consuming opium plants.
Photo: AM Faruqui
Men at work: Workers dig up poppy pods to extract raw opium latex.
Photo: AM Faruqui
Essential Elixir: Raw opium latex oozing from a poppy capsule in an opium field. Latex gets CBN.
Photo: SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP
Chilling yield: An opium farmer shows poppy seeds (posto dana or khus khus) obtained from opium poppy in Neemuch district.
Published – 29 March 2026 08:18 IST
