 "LS polls: Makhana traders demand policy refit for opportunity pop-up")
United Kingdom returnee and seasoned corporate employee Manish Anand Jha, who worked for over 27 years in the construction business, has made a comeback to Madhubani, driven by his ‘love for the land’, aiming to set up a makhana (puffed foxnut or gorgon nut) processing plant at the age of 47.
The factory set up by Manish Anand is bordered by bamboo plants and open fields in Arer, Madhubani, which is over 160 kilometres from Patna and still seeks clear export policies and a proper industry body.
“Despite receiving the Geographical Indication tag over two years ago, the makhana industry still lacks any association. Moreover, the absence of a Harmonized System of Nomenclature (HSN) code has made the road even more difficult for this industry,” says Manish Anand.
Rajeev Ranjan, an IIT Kharagpur graduate, has returned to his hometown of Darbhanga to set up his farmer production company. “Due to government policies, the superfood for the global market from the Home of Black Diamond Growers & White Gold Poppers, Mithilanchal, Bihar, has not made its presence in the world diaspora. The lack of an HSN code makes makhana untraceable and untrackable in the world market, which hampers its exports and global presence,” says Ranjan.
Prem Mishra, an MBA graduate who spent over 14 years in Mumbai, has returned to Darbhanga to start his startup through makhana processing.
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“The manual process for makhana is the biggest challenge. Converting black seeds into white is currently done by hand. There is no proper government data available, so all these factors make my work more dependent on manual labour, leading to difficulties in doing business,” says Mishra.
“There should also be some food parks for makhana so that we can receive subsidies from the government,” he adds.
According to data shared by the Bihar Horticulture Development Society, as of 2021-22, 90 per cent of the world’s production of makhana is done in India. However, only 200 million tonnes of makhana pop are exported from India.
Traditional methods for obtaining makhana pop make exporting difficult.
A completely mechanised system for threshing, cleaning, seed grading, drying, roasting, and popping of the gorgon nut, an aquatic plant seed mainly grown in Bihar, has been developed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s (ICAR’s) Ludhiana-based Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET).
Scientists Shyam Narayan (S N) Jha and Rajesh Kumar Vishwakarma received a patent in 2013 from the Government of India for the mechanised system of popping and decorating makhana seeds.
A decade later, only 8–10 per cent of the total seed conversion has been achieved.
“The real challenge for not popularising the popping machines is from other places, in particular cities like Ambala (Haryana), Raipur (Chhattisgarh), and the state of Himachal Pradesh. This incurs significant costs in importing them,” says S N Jha, deputy director-general of agricultural engineering of ICAR, in an interaction with Business Standard.
Industry insiders also point out that it is very difficult for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to import plants for the two- to three-month season.
“An expenditure of Rs 15 lakh becomes very difficult for an SME like ours in just three months. However, if it breaks down, we do not get any support from Bihar. That is why we prefer to go with the manual method to obtain the makhana pop,” says Manish Anand.
Bihar Horticulture Development Society data shows that the area under makhana production has increased by 171 per cent in nine years, from 13,000 hectares (ha) in 2012–13 to 35,224 ha in 2021–22.
“However, we face many issues in the Western market in selling our makhana pop, as manual makhana pop does not provide uniformity, leading to rejection in the international market,” says Vishwakarma, principal scientist at ICAR-CIPHET to Business Standard.
Vishwakarma further adds that, since this particular sector is unorganised, it allows traders to control prices. “The problem also lies in the fact that the makhana industry has not received foreign direct investment approval. There are also quality concerns, due to which many consignments have been rejected by foreign countries,” he adds.
Makhana pop production is mainly carried out in 10 districts of Bihar, namely Darbhanga, Madhubani, Sitamarhi, Purnea, Katihar, Saharsa, Supaul, Madhepura, Araria, and Kishanganj. These districts collectively produce 56,388.79 tonnes of makhana seed and 23,656.1 tonnes of makhana pop.
Costing around Rs 15 lakh to set up a small unit for producing 12 kilograms (kg) of puffed makhana per hour from processed seeds, this integrated machine has reduced the processing time from two to three days to only about 20 hours.
“The major issue is that people are not being trained to run those machines properly. Despite the government providing machines to enhance this industry, people are unable to use them,” adds Mishra.
Traders monopoly
Due to the absence of any specific market for makhana, traders have a monopoly on rates during the season.
Vikas Sahni, 46, a makhana farmer, said since farmers do not have any specific mandi (market) for them, they are forced to make tie-ups with traders who often bargain for lower prices.
“Traders sometimes engage in arbitrariness in terms of pricing during the season when we sell our seed. It can range between Rs 12,000 and Rs 22,000 per 100 kg, depending on the market,” he explains.
Pawan Sahni, 29, from Darbhanga district, who works on converting the black seeds of makhana into the popped variant by hand, says that the margins received are slim.
“We purchase the makhana seeds from farmers; after a lot of hardship, we don’t get good margins. We do not have a proper mandi to sell our makhana. Either we have to go to traders or to the makhana processing companies, where sometimes we have to compromise on the terms as well,” he says.
Generally, several families belonging to the Sahni community have been performing this work for years. These families keep moving to the 10 districts during the season.