Erratic Prices, Meagre Margins: In Makhana Hub, MSP Demand On Farmers' Lips Amid Bihar Elections
The farmers also spoke about the challenges they face due to the makhana board being in Darbhanga, which is far off from Purnea despite 80% of the farming taking place there.
Makhana farmers in Bihar's Purnea have urged the government to set a minimum support price for their product as price security is affected by seasonal rates on crops that tend to not be enough to sustain them.
In an interview with NDTV Editor-In-Chief Rahul Kanwal amid the Bihar Assembly Elections 2025, the fox nut farmers explained that the price rate of their crop fluctuates erratically. Despite a majority of the makhana farming taking place in Purnea, the area does not see the financial benefits from their sale.
"Makhana costs Rs 40,000 per quintal in July, but the rate now (November) is Rs 15,000 to Rs 17,000 at the maximum," one of the farmers said.
He also spoke about how it can drive farmers to die by suicide due to the meagre margins. "In 2022, Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 per quintal was the per quintal rate of makhana, due to which many farmers hanged themselves. Who's responsible for that?" the farmer asked
The farmers also stated that the prices of the crop may increase outside of the state in big metro cities like Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai, but they don't receive the benefits of their sale in those cities.
"There is no minimum support price on makhana. There are no laws on it. Its rate is increasing outside in big cities, but we aren't getting the benefits from it," one of the farmers said.
He also discussed challenges with the grievance redressal, stating that the makhana board was in Darbhanga, which is far off from Purnea despite 80% of makhana farming taking place there. This makes it difficult for the farmers to leave their farms and travel there to have their issue addressed.
"Up to 80% of makhana farming happens in Purnea, but the board is elsewhere in Darbhanga. We can't go that far and leave our farms to have our problems addressed," he said.
Makhana farmers plant fox nut seeds during the February-March period 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 down into water bodies to collect them.
They are compensated according to their weight after cleaning, getting paid up front by kilo, but the weight is halved after cleaning.
Labourers face serious challenges while farming due to the crops being excessively thorny and leeches attaching themselves to them in the water.
One of the farmers said that the government should decide the MSP on makhana so they can farm accordingly. "People should get the benefits of makhana selling uniformly instead of different price rates for different places."
