Bihar, which is in the throes of the high-stakes state assembly election, is hardly known for success stories. However, there is one area where it stands out – makhana (fox nut) production. The state accounts for 90 per cent of the country’s production of this aquatic crop. About 90 per cent of the world’s makhana comes from India, which is why, in the Union Budget 2025-26, with an eye on the assembly election, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the establishment of a Makhana Board in the state, aiming to enhance the production, processing and marketing of makhana.
The board was expected to yield several benefits for Bihar. By streamlining the makhana supply chain, farmers can achieve better productivity and profitability, contributing to the state’s economic development. Improved processing and marketing efforts can create jobs in related sectors, including packaging, transportation and retail.
A few months after Sitharaman’s announcement, makhana began to be marketed as a gluten-free wonder food (with protein, fibre, minerals and antioxidants) and sold in various forms after secondary processing. However, despite its nutritional benefits and growing demand, the makhana industry of Bihar faces several challenges. With a fragmented production, cultivation is still being carried out by small-scale farmers lacking access to advanced makhana farming techniques. Traditional processing methods are labour-intensive and time-consuming, leading to inconsistent quality. Limited access to broader markets restricts farmers’ ability to obtain fair prices for their produce. The Makhana Board, which aims to address these challenges by providing structured support to the industry, has yet to make significant headway.
There are serious questions asked in Bihar: Is production being done at scale? How far is it positioned, relative to the potential? Also, does it bring about the distribution of value in favour of the state? It seems that makhana mimics the archetype of cocoa in Africa, where the African producers in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire get only a minuscule share ($8-9 billion) of $150 billion plus a year chocolate industry. The same mechanics seem to work for makhana, albeit at a lower value level.
During the run-up to the election, farmers had raised the demand for setting a minimum support price (MSP) for makhana. They argued that, despite being the largest producer, Bihar just did not have the scale to count as a big exporter. Existing as well as potential demand far outweighed the quality-adjusted supply. Makhana may be a wonder food, but it cannot yet be a wonder income generator and poverty reducer in Bihar. As there are costs, particularly fixed costs, involved in trading, they can only be offset with scale. Unfortunately, the low volume for domestic and international trade characterises Bihar’s makhana.
No code of identification
The scaling up is needed not only in quantity but also in quality. Quality involves, among other things, packaging and meeting food safety standards. Because of the low value, until 2022, makhana did not even have a code for identification as a unique nut (was clubbed with other nuts) in trade data. Now, all trade, including makhana, takes place through global value chains (GVCs). Though the largest producer of raw makhana, the biggest processors and exporters are in other states like Punjab and Assam, which then export to other countries and states within India. They are the real gainers.
Besides, the Makhana Board is located in Darbhanga, which is far from Purnea, which makes it difficult for the farmers to leave their farms and travel there to have their issue addressed. This is why makhana farmers in Purnea, the hub of production, have urged the government to set an MSP for their produce, as price security is affected by seasonal rates on crops that tend not to be enough to sustain them. The fox nut farmers complain that the price of their crop fluctuates erratically. Makhana cost R40,000 per quintal in July, but the rate now (November) is R15,000-17,000 at the maximum. These trying conditions have driven some farmers to suicide.
Makhana farmers plant the seeds in water bodies during February-March and wait for them to develop until the crops are ready for harvest. Labourers are employed to use baskets and pots to collect raw foxnuts during harvest seasons, working for up to five hours, while diving into water bodies to collect them.
But it remains to be seen if the demand for MSP on makhana will override the election season, so that farmers can farm accordingly and get the benefits of the product, selling uniformly instead of different price rates for different places.