Why were Indian farmers reluctant to grow opium?

For a variety of reasons, Indian farmers were reluctant to grow opium.

● First, the crop had to be grown on the best land, on fields that lay near villages or were well manured.

● Second, many cultivators owned no land. To cultivate, they had to pay rent and lease land from the landlords. And the rent charged on good lands was very high.

● Third, cultivation of opium was a difficult process. The plant was delicate and the cultivators had to spend long hours nurturing it.

● Finally, the price paid by the government to the cultivators for the opium they produced was very low. It was unprofitable for the cultivators to grow opium at that price.