Understanding Budget’s Makhananomics: Why Finance Minister Sitharaman announced creation of ‘Makhana Board’ in Bihar

In caller years, the erstwhile humble makhana has skyrocketed successful popularity astir the satellite arsenic a “superfood” of prime among fittingness enthusiasts. This has prompted the authorities to absorption connected selling makhana successful bid to commercially harness its popularity.

In 2022, ‘Mithila Makhana’ was conferred a Geographical Indication (GI) tag, a certification that signifies that a merchandise tin lone beryllium grown successful a peculiar geographical location, and arsenic a result, has unsocial characteristics (like Darjeeling’s beverage oregon Mysore sandal soap).

However, debased productivity, lack of nutrient processing units, and dilatory maturation of businesslike selling chains has meant that Bihar, which is the largest shaper of makhana successful India, has been incapable to instrumentality vantage of the increasing request successful some the home and the planetary market.

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What is makhana?

Known successful English arsenic fox nut, makhana is the dried edible effect of the prickly h2o lily oregon gorgon works (Euryale ferox), a taxon which grows successful freshwater ponds crossed South and East Asia. The works is known for its violet and achromatic flowers, and massive, circular and prickly leaves — often stretching much than a metre across.

The authorities of Bihar contributes to astir 90% of India’s makhana production. “Makhana harvest is grown successful astir 15,000 hectares successful Bihar which produces astir 10,000 tonnes of popped makhana,” a 2020 insubstantial by Indian Council of Agricultural Research said.

Production is concentrated successful 9 districts of bluish and eastbound Bihar — Darbhanga, Madhubani, Purnea, Katihar, Saharsa, Supoul, Araria, Kishanganj and Sitamarhi — which autumn successful the alleged Mithilanchal region. Of these, the archetypal 4 districts mentioned lend to 80% of Bihar’s makhana production.

Outside Bihar, the harvest is cultivated successful smaller quantities successful the states of Assam, Manipur, West Bengal, Tripura and Odisha, arsenic good arsenic successful Nepal, Bangladesh, China, Japan, and Korea.

Makhana has culturally been portion of Hindu rituals for centuries. Of late, however, it has gained popularity arsenic a ‘superfood’ for its affluent nutritional properties — makhana is nutrient-dense, low-fat, and an perfect “healthy snack”, experts say.

The planetary makhana marketplace was valued astatine $43.56 cardinal successful 2023, according to marketplace probe steadfast Spherical Insights. With a marketplace increasing astatine a CAGR of 8.31% from 2023-33, it is expected to scope $100 cardinal by 2033, the probe steadfast predicted.

Why is the announcement successful the Budget significant?

Despite being the largest shaper of makhana, Bihar has not been capable to harness its increasing market. This is exemplified by the information that contempt Bihar producing 90% of the country’s makhana crop, the largest makhana exporters successful India and Punjab and Assam. Punjab does not adjacent nutrient makhana.

This is due to the fact that Bihar neither has a developed nutrient processing industry, nor required export infrastructure. In fact, not a azygous airdrome successful Bihar has a cargo hold.

“Thus, Bihar ends up selling each its fox nuts arsenic earthy worldly to FPUs (food processing units) extracurricular the authorities astatine inexpensive prices. These FPUs adhd worth to the merchandise done flavouring and packaging, and frankincense bid amended prices,” a elder bureaucrat successful Bihar told The Indian Express connected the information of anonymity.

“Additionally, since the marketplace successful Bihar is not well-developed and organised, determination is simply a agelong concatenation of intermediaries starring to those engaged successful fox seed farming getting precise debased prices compared to what makhana commands successful the commercialized market. Thus, neither the farmer, nor the authorities — successful presumption of gross — earns what they really can,” the bureaucrat said.

Low productivity is different large occupation successful makhana cultivation successful Bihar. Currently, cultivating makhana is an highly arduous and labour dense process, which pushes up the wide input cost.

Seeds are sown successful lasting h2o bodies — specified arsenic ponds successful the Darbhanga-Madhubani loop and unfastened fields with 1 ft heavy lasting h2o successful the Supaul-Kishenganj loop — and harvesting is done manually by diving to the bottommost of the h2o body. Subsequent processing of makhana — from cleaning and prima drying the seeds, to roasting and yet “popping” to nutrient the signifier successful which they are consumed — excessively is manually done.

Moreover, farmers person been dilatory to follow precocious output varieties of fox seed seeds developed by cultivation institutes, specified arsenic Swarna Vaidehi and Sabour Makhana-1. According to the 2020 ICAR paper, accepted farming practices person a accumulation capableness of 1.7-1.9 tonnes per hectare, acold little than the 3-3.5 tonnes per hectare that the HYV seeds tin give.

“More consciousness needs to beryllium created among farmers to follow amended seeds,” the bureaucrat said. He added, however, that “attempts astatine mechanising the harvesting process person not worked” due to the fact that “the manufacture has not been capable to travel up with an businesslike machine”.

How precisely tin having a Makhana Board help?

Sources successful the Bihar authorities said that the authorities needs a robust nutrient processing industry, on with beardown chains of retention facilities, an businesslike market, and an export infrastructure.

The Makahana Board, which has a fund of Rs 100 crore, is expected to supply grooming to farmers, making them export-oriented, assistance make an ecosystem that brings investments successful the nutrient processing sector, and assistance make required export infrastructure.

According to JDU Working President Sanjay Jha, the authorities authorities expects to make the close ecosystem for nutrient processing units done the Makhana Board, and a nutrient processing institute the authorities has announced.

“Then the airdrome astatine Patna is being expanded. Very soon the Purnea and Darbhanga airports volition beryllium afloat functional. All these volition person cargo holds. This volition facilitate exports,” helium told The Indian Express.

A elder Bihar bureaucrat, however, said that a batch volition beryllium connected however overmuch wealth the governments, some the Centre and the state, are consenting to spend, and however overmuch involvement they instrumentality successful realising the imaginable of the nutrient processing assemblage successful Bihar.

Earlier attempts to this extremity person not been precise encouraging. In 2002, the authorities acceptable up a National Research Centre for Makhana nether ICAR successful Bihar. Till July past year, the Darbhanga-based centre had lone 10 employees against a sanctioned spot of 42. There was nary administrative staff, and a full-time manager was ne'er appointed.

What is the governmental value of this announcement?

With months to spell for the Bihar legislative Assembly polls, the announcements volition assistance Nitish Kumar offset immoderate of the disapproval helium has faced implicit his nonaccomplishment to ideate Bihar’s economical maturation beyond the roads and powerfulness supply. Unemployment and migration were among cardinal issues successful Bihar during the caller Lok Sabha polls.

Last year, the Bihar authorities had asked for an MSP for makhana from the Centre.

Additionally, the announcements are a nonstop awesome to a politically important assemblage of Mallahs successful the state. The farming and harvesting of Makhana is astir wholly done by the Mallahs (fishermen and boatmen), who are besides among the astir impoverished communities successful the state.

Although accounting for lone 2.6% of Bihar’s population, Mallahs are concentrated successful the riverine belts of North Bihar, wherever they tin bid a voteshare of much than 6%. The assemblage has historically sided with societal justness parties since the JP movement. In caller years, however, they person been wooed by each parties successful successive elections fixed that they are besides an assertive caste who tin get different little castes to rally down them.

In a intimately fought election, the NDA would privation them connected its side. “It volition not lone springiness overmuch needed impetus to the makhana manufacture successful Bihar, but besides assistance its farmers who travel from the impoverished assemblage of fishermen. Since it is simply a labour-intensive industry, it volition besides make jobs for the community,” Jha told The Indian Express.

At the moment, immoderate 10 lakh families successful Bihar are progressive successful the cultivation and processing of makhana.