Bihar’s makhana boom: How fox nuts are transforming farmers’ lives in Purnia, Katihar

PUrnia/Katihar: interior a make-shift sn drop in Harda hamlet of Bihar’s Purnia dominion, Rohit Sahani’s entire family is busy processing makhana (fox nuts). From a traditional backward boatmen community, Sahani buys makhana seeds from farmers across Purnia and Katihar districts, and processes it before selling to wholesale dealers.“The business has grown as many farmers are now growing makhana and the prices have also increased by about three-times in the past six years,” he says, as mother, Kisni Devi, 42, is segregating the black coloured pea-sized seeds. Of his two younger brothers, one is heating the segregated seeds on a wood-fired stove, and the other is beating the heated seeds on a wooden plate, called thampi, with a wooden hammer to get the white puffed kernel, which people consume, in a total family enterprise.Sahani is among about 1,000 families from Darbhangawho migrate to makhana growing districts in the water rich Kosi-Seemanchal belt every year for harvesting the crop during monsoon months. Grown in knee-deep water in farms, where once maize was the makhana is being slowly adopted by the farmers as an additional crop to paddy, which continues to be among the prominent agriculture crops in Bihar.According to Bhola Paswan Shastri Agriculture College in Purnia, the state government’s nodal centre for Makhana Vikas Yojana, the area under makhana production has increased to about 40,000 hectares in 2024-25 from about 12,000 hectares in 2019-20. A decade back, it was about 3,000 hectares. Under the scheme, the Bihar government aims to increase the area of makhana planted to 1.92 lakh hectares, but that target does not mention a time-frame.Although the makhana planting area has increased three-fold, its total contribution to Bihar’s agriculture is not very significant. As per Bihar agriculture department, the total planted area in 2004-25 was 56.03 lakh hectares with 76% of the state’s population engaged in agriculture.On around 80% of the state’s farmland, paddy, wheat and maize is grown. According to Bihar’s economic survey report for 2024-25, agriculture contributes about one-fourth to the state’s gross domestic product and it has grown at the rate of 2.2% since 2023-24.“This year, the best price for paddy is ₹1,800 per quintal,” said Mukesh Sharma, who has taken five acres of farm land in Khargia district for share-cropping from a local landlord whose family migrated to Delhi years ago. Around one-fourth of agriculture land is leased out on share-holding in Bihar, as per an estimate of the Bihar agriculture department, which comes with a rider that the exact share is not known as most share agriculture leases are verbal agreements.Sharma says the price they get is much lower than in Punjab, where the minimum support price for paddy is ₹2,369 per unit for 2025 year.In Araria district, Nur Alam, a maize farmer, says the prices they get are low because there is no proper market and trading system like the ones in Punjab and Haryana. “Traders come and buy our produce at the farm or we sell our produce to them at make-shift markets near tehsil headquarters,” he says, ruing the abolition of the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act in 2006. The Rashtriya Janata Party led Grand Alliance has promised in its manifesto restoring the APMC law, if they come to power.Mohammed Gulfraz, 28, in Chakri village of Katihar district, who left his corporate job in Lucknow in 2018 to take up makhana business in this rich agriculture belt, says makhana farming has attracted farmers but its biggest limitation is that it can be grown only in the water-logged , red sand areas of the Kosi belt.“In more sandy agriculture fields, makhana cannot be grown even if there is water,” he says, highlighting it as a reason for Mithilanchal-Kosi-Seemanchal region producing 85% of Bihar’s makhana. The state contributes about 80% to the county’s fox nut production.In Gulfraz’s Muslim dominated village, where conditions are conducive for makhana crop, farmers have shifted from once popular maize crop to makhana, planted in February to March and harvested from June end till September, as the earning from the latter is almost double.“From an acre of maize farm, we would earn at most ₹1 to 1.5 lakh. In case of makhana, earning would not be less than ₹two lakh,” says another villager, Mohammed Altaf Alam, who shifted to makhana about five years ago. He adds that adverse weather conditions do not affect makhana much like other crops.“In dry periods, we pump water. Cheap electricity connection for agriculture given by Nitish (Kumar) government has reduced the cost as compared to diesel pumps,” said Raju Sahani from Darbhanga, who takes agriculture land on lease in Harda village of the Purnia district to grow makhana.Gulfraz says 90% of farmers in Katihar and neighbouring Purnia districts grow makhana with paddy in the mix crop pattern to improve their earning. “Still on 60 to 70% of farm land paddy and other crops are grown as it is less labour intensive,” he adds.However, in fields which were declared unfit for paddy cultivation due to water-logging, makhana is being promoted as an alternative by the state government. Anil Kumar, principal scientist at Bhola Paswan Shastri Agriculture College said the state government launched a makhana scheme in 2019 to promote its production in the areas conducive for its growth, especially in the water-logged farms.The growth of makhana production has provided employment to some young people like Rohit Sahani, whose family has grown makhana for generations in small tanks and ponds in Darbanga, where it had reached more than two centuries ago from China and East Asia, as per Darbhanga gazette published in 1954.This harvest season, Sahani says, the selling price of makhana kernel in wholesale is about ₹700 per kilogram, slightly less than ₹900 per kilogram it sold earlier this year, because of the elections. “The entire business is in cash and during elections cash flow reduces,” Sahani explains. He says the price was not more than ₹200 in 2019-20. To be sure, this price is for the best quality makhana, which is sold in retail for up to ₹1,400 per kilogram. Smaller size makhana sells between ₹300-400 per kilogram.A makhana farm worker earns between ₹1,000 to ₹1,500 a day depending on the harvest as compared to ₹300-500 daily farm wage in Bihar and up to ₹800 during paddy harvest season in Punjab. “A farmer gives me ₹50 for every kilogram of seed collected from the pond. In a day, I easily collect 25-30 kg,” says Ramji Sahani, a makhana farm worker.Kumar claimed that good wages for makhana workers may have reduced some migration to Punjab but did not provide any data for the same. Before working in Harda’s makhana fields, Ramji Sahani used to travel to Punjab for paddy harvest every year. Some more makhana workers claimed to have stopped going to Punjab for work now but added that still many, who are not skilled in makhana seed collection and processing, go to Punjab and Haryana to work in farms. “During paddy harvest season trains carrying workers to Punjab and Haryana are still full,” said a Railway booking officer in Saharsa railway station.For those in the makhana trade, the increase in makhana production and high demand has turned makhana farmers like Gulfraz to traders. He claims to export makhana processed in different flavours to middle-east and western countries. “The business is good, demand is high and growth is fantastic,” said a wholesale makhana trader in Purnia, Brij Mohan Agarwal.Gulfraz and Alam, who drive SUVs, say more money meant better education in private schools and better healthcare for their families. Rohit Sahani was able to build a concrete home for his family in his village, Beni, in Darbhanga. “Our life is better thanks to makhana, if not perfect,” Sahani says, with a broad smile.