Why were Indian farmers reluctant to grow opium?

Opium production required the use of the best lands which meant diversion of land from cereal and pulses production. Opium cultivation was time consuming which left little time to care for other crops. Most of the farmers did not own land and they had to lease a land for growing opium. The British offered very low price of opium to the peasants. These are the various reasons for Indian farmers’ reluctance to grow opium.

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