question_answer 16)

Why were the Indian farmers reluctant to grow opium?  

Answer:

The Indian farmers were reluctant to grow opium because of the following reasons.   First The crop had to be grown on the best land, on the fields that lay near the villages and were well minored. On this, the farmers usually produced pulses. If .they planted opium on this land, then pulses could not be grown there or they would have to be grown on inferior land where harvests were poorer and uncertain.   Second Many cultivators owned no land. To cultivate opium they had to pay rent and lease land from landlords and the rent charged on good lands near the villages was very high. Third The cultivation of opium was a difficult process. The plant was delicate and cultivators had to spend long hours nurturing it. This meant that they did not have enough time to care for other crops. Fourth, the price which the government paid to the cultivators for the opium they produced was very low. It was unprofitable for the cultivators to grow opium at that price.