The makhana value chain and the fast emergence of branding in food retail: Evidence from Bihar (India)

As part of the National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP), a makhana value chain study was organized in Bihar, in collaboration between the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in Patna, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), as makhana is one of the core crops that the NAIP project in Bihar is focusing on. Primary surveys were fielded with producers, traders, processors, and retailers in 2009 and 2010 on the rural-urban makhana value chain in Bihar, more in particular from the disadvantaged districts part of the NAIP project (Darbhanga) to urban consumers in Patna. The most salient findings are presented below. Upstream. First, the average number of ponds cultivated by a makhana cultivator is 2. While almost half of the farmers only cultivate makhana in one pond, 13% of the households reported to cultivate more than 3 ponds. The average pond area cultivated per household is 4.8 acres. The average production per household in 2009 was 3.1 tons or about 635 kgs per acre. Second, 27% of the producers evaluated that the quality of seeds deteriorated during drying. Of these, all believed that the quality of pop would have been better if processed earlier. More than a quarter of the producers thus seemingly suffered losses because of late processing. Third, almost all the respondents agree with the statement that you have to be a family of the secretary of the fisherman’s cooperative society as to be able to obtain a lease to a government pond. This is important given that rates for these government ponds are often leased much below market rates. An average lease is for 3 years but the majority of the farmers agree that in the case that leases are longer, makhana production would increase because of more investments in the ponds. Fourth, the average production of makhana seeds per pond was about 18% lower than the expected harvest level during the cultivation period, possibly driven by incidences of floods and droughts as ...