Poppy cultivation: India
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Poppy cultivation
May 26 2015
The first recorded cultivation of poppy in India dates back to the 15th century in Cambay and Malwa region.During the Mughal period, opium was grown for trade with China and other east Asian countries. By the 16th century, production became a state monopoly, later appropriated by merchants in Patna and by the East India Company in 1757. Today, India is the only country authorized by the UN to produce gum opium. Eleven other countries cultivate legal opium but do not extract gum.Depending on the yield, licenced cultivators are allowed to grow the crop in 15 or 20 acres of land.
Barabanki: Most of crop lost, 2007-15
The Times of India, December 3, 2015
Pervez IqbalSiddiqui
`Mindless rule' dries up UP's sea of poppies
Once known as the poppy hub of the country , Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh is no longer a favourite for poppy growers. With over 90% of crop lost due to rains over the last couple of seasons, farmers here are looking for alternatives for survival.Worse, it's nothing but a muleheaded application of the rule that is responsible for the drying up of poppy cultivation. As per the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN), any farmer who fails to produce at least 52 kg of opium per hectare for two consecutive years, forfeits his licence for the third season.“Licenses of many farmers have not been renewed under this rule,“ said the district opium officer Radharam Dinkar.
Because of the mindless ap plication of CBN rule, farmers who could not meet the target, for no fault of theirs, have been denied the licence to cultivate poppy , forcing them to switch to other agriculture produce.
The district opium officer based at Afeem Kothi in Barabanki, the only one in the state dealing with opium production, has been the agent of this change. In 2007, it had issued over 1,000 licences for poppy cultivation in Barabanki alone; this year, the number was down to 100. “We have issued 148 licenses this year. Apart from Barabanki, 48 licences were issued for Badaun, Shahjahanpur and Lucknow,“ said Dinkar.
Hari Prasad of Gokulpur village, once a licensed opium grower, says he is now growing seasonal crop. “Last year, we lost our crop for the second time in a row. This time, we weren't issued the licence,“ Prasad said. Under the British, thou sands of farmers were involved in cultivating poppy , which had made Barabanki a major center of opium production. After Independence, the government issued licenses for poppy cultivation. Over time, while licensed poppy cultivation has declined, the trade has given rise to opium-smuggling.
In 2014, around 41.30 kg of heroin (derived from the morphine alkaloid found in opium) was seized in UP , making it the fourth state in terms of seizures as per the Narcotics Control Bureau report for 2014.
