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Mint
11 hours ago
- Business
- Mint
How the iconic Shahi litchis of Bihar turned sour
Samastipur & Muzaffarpur, Bihar: Plants whisper, you need ears to listen. That's what Norman Borlaug, a plant breeder and Nobel Peace laureate who saved billions from starvation, used to tell his students. Borlaug's words ring hard as one steps into the orchards of the Mithila region of Bihar, spread across Samastipur and Muzaffarpur districts. This region is renowned for its rose-floral scented Shahi litchis. On a sultry summer forenoon, an orchard is still a balmy place to be at. Late May, the fields are abuzz. Contractors and traders supervise workers including underage children, as they scale giant trees, some as tall as 20m, to pluck ripe, crimson-red fruits. These are carried as head loads to another group, mostly women, who sort the fruit in bunches with stems and leaves on. It is easy to fall for the tranquil charm of the harvest season. The reality spills on enquiry, like a riches-to-rags tale. A tropical delicacy known as a symbol of romance, litchis travelled from China via Myanmar and Indian states such as Assam and West Bengal to Bihar, a journey that took place around 300 years ago. The fruit prospered in the fertile, silt-rich soil of the state, patronized by local elites and landlords. A sense of pride and cultural heritage is attached to its cultivation. But underneath its gorgeous canopies, the orchards are literally on a trial. Uninterested growers and absentee landlords now sell their harvest for a pittance, due to rising climate and market risks. Since litchis perish faster than most other fruits—post harvest, they have a shelf life of two-three days in ambient conditions—owners prefer to sell the produce months in advance at a pre-agreed price. A nexus of contractors and traders take over the fields thereon, squeezing trees to produce more. Indifferent to the overall health of orchards and its soils, they use a cocktail of chemicals to manage pests and prolong the shelf-life of harvested fruits. If the crop fails—as it does once every few years—the orchardist does not receive the contracted payment. In other words, farmers bear the entire risk. The pre-agreed price is only honoured if the crop survives. In good years, orchard owners receive ₹20-30 per kg while the harvest laden with chemical residues is sold in cities for a premium, at prices ranging between ₹200 and ₹500 per kg. According to an avid orchardist, Anoj Rai from Samastipur, litchis are a game of luck which lasts for less than three weeks (a short window of harvest). 'The odds are not in our favour. So, I cut down my orchard to a third and planted lemons instead. Lemons are harvested twice a year and have a longer shelf life," he said. Rai choosing lemons over litchis is a cautionary caveat—the 'queen of fruits' looks set to lose her crown. 'Smiling concubine' Bikash Das does not mince words. A senior fruit scientist, Das is currently director at the National Research Centre on Litchi in Muzaffarpur, an institute under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. 'The fruit bunches used here for decorating the stage will fail international quality and chemical residue standards," he told an auditorium packed with students, scientists and farmers at a national seminar on litchi organized by the Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University in Pusa, Samastipur, late last month. Owners do not take care of trees after the crop is harvested; the trees are as old and vulnerable as are the orchardists; there is plenty of pride attached, but little is being done to ensure that growers receive a fair price. Clearly, Das is distressed by the treatment meted out to the exotic fruit. During his talk, Das narrated a story from ancient China. Over 1,200 years back, Emperor Xuanzong, set up a specialized courier service comprising fine horses and skilled riders to deliver fresh litchis from the fields in the south to the imperial court in the north for his favourite consort and lover, Yang Yuhuan. Litchis have since attained a folklore status and are considered a symbol of romance, with one variety from China carrying the name 'Smiling Concubine.' It's a tragedy that we are not able to do today what an emperor tried centuries back, Das said, referring to the absence of a fast and reliable logistic network to transport the fruit. Das' institute is now documenting the story of the 'litchi people,' a cultural backstory to market the fruit as a premium produce from the state, in addition to investigating the volatile compounds which lend the fruit a floral aroma, leaving connoisseurs with a fragrant aftertaste. To be sure, the Shahi variety of Bihar received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2018, but that did not help revive its lost glory. Apart from the Shahi, which occupies about 70% of the growing area, the state is home to two other varieties, China and Bedana. A GI is awarded to identify and market a product where its qualities can be attributed to geographical origin—like Champagne originating from the Champagne region of France or Darjeeling tea from the Darjeeling hills of West Bengal. The National Research Centre on Litchi is also testing new technologies to increase the shelf life in ambient conditions (as litchis are harvested and transported in peak summer), and introducing better crop management and quality control practices in orchards. This is a tall task for a modest research station with an annual budget of just ₹6.5 crore, over half of which is spent on staff salaries and administrative expenses. All fruit research centres put together, India spends under ₹10 crore on research and development of litchis, a little over 0.1% of the market size, estimated at ₹8,000 crore. A day after the litchi seminar, Das took this writer to visit a few orchards in Muzaffarpur. He said his city friends often complain that litchis have lost their sweetness and taste sour at times. That happens when the produce is plucked by contractors before it matures on trees. That's a common practice in many fruits, including mangoes, since the produce that hits the markets the earliest receives the highest premium. 'What do the people of Delhi know about litchi? They will pay for even sour ones," a local trader quipped, when Das advised him to harvest only mature fruits. The thumb rule: Shahi litchi only attains maturity beginning the third week of May. Race to bottom The slide in the fortunes of the Bihar litchi is laid bare by numbers. Production of litchis in the state witnessed a sharp 43% decline between 2011-12 and 2024-25. A state which once grew close to two-third of India's production (62% in 2001-02) now contributes less than a quarter. Bihar is still the largest producer, but that's more a consolation. While others like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Odisha have stepped in to fill a part of the void created by Bihar, India's annual production has plummeted to 578,000 tonnes in 2024-25, about 20% lower than the estimated production in 2020-21. China is the largest producer globally with an annual production of 3 million tonnes, five times higher than India. The slide in Bihar can be attributed to adverse weather and owners losing interest in their orchards due to low prices, which, in turn, is a fallout of extractive farm practices impacting productivity. For instance, production last year was crimped by a severe heatwave. In the 2025 season, high temperatures in April, and lack of rains during fruiting, could reduce earnings by a half, said Rabi Ranjan, a farmer from Malikour village in Samastipur. Being a delicate fruit, litchis are susceptible to temperature and humidity fluctuations, which lead to scorching, fruit dropping and cracks on its skin. But the Achilles' heel is poor orchard management. Farmers do not prune their trees after harvest or apply organic manure to improve depleting soil carbon content. This has severely impacted productivity, Das, the fruit scientist quoted earlier, said. Poor soils yield a sub-par harvest, which, in turn, results in farmers receiving a lower price per tree. This is a negative spiral where each season is worse than the preceding one. While an orchard owner in Bihar pre-sells the harvest of a single tree for as low as ₹1,500 (for a tree yielding 80-100kg of fruit), in Murshidabad, West Bengal, owners receive up to ₹7,000 per tree. Besides, a Bihar orchardist functions in an adverse environment of reduced bargaining power in the market. The state abolished regulated agriculture markets back in 2006, which left farmers at the mercy of traders for most crops—from perishable fruits to non-perishable grains and oilseeds. In regulated markets, trade data like price and volumes are recorded daily (providing a benchmark price to growers while negotiating with buyers) and the produce is usually auctioned to the highest bidder. For instance, at the wholesale regulated mandi in Ludhiana, litchis sold for ₹65 per kg in the last week of May, over three times the farm-gate prices in Muzaffarpur, Bihar. Between supervising workers at an orchard in Samastipur, Shiv Nandan Poddar, a contractor who pre-booked the crop in January, four months ahead of harvest, listed the chemical pesticides he uses. These include imidacloprid, an insecticide which is fatal to honeybees, a pollinator for litchi. A geographical indication application for litchi honey from Bihar was filed last August. The trouble is: as pollinator numbers decline due to overuse of toxic pesticides, production of both litchi and litchi honey are at risk. Imidacloprid is banned by several countries, including in the European Union (EU). The National Research Centre on Litchi also found residues of chlorpyrifos, a chemical toxic to both bees and humans and banned by the EU and the US, in fruit samples. Contractors wrongly use the chemical to prolong shelf life. The other pesticide Poddar spoke of is cypermethrin, which is only allowed to be used by registered pest control operators in India. 'Orchard managers have indiscriminately used cypermethrin (which led to pest resistance) and propagation of mites. Very few follow recommended dosage or stop chemical sprays ahead of harvest to lower residues in fruits sold to consumers," said Udayan Mukherjee, professor and head of entomology at the Central Agricultural University at Pusa, Samastipur. A dead end? Can processing and exports help farmers earn more? A 2021 report on gaps in infrastructure and processing facilities, commissioned by the food processing ministry, found that about 30% of the litchis grown in Bihar—low-grade fruits, not fit for direct consumption—can be processed to make pulp and juices. But here's the spoiler: as per the report, litchi juice with pulp imported from China and Vietnam is way cheaper than domestic products, even after paying a steep import duty. This is because of low juice and soluble sugar content in home-grown litchis compared to varieties suitable for processing used internationally. Exports, as grower testimonies and scientific opinion suggest, is a dead end for now, unless abusive crop management practices are overhauled. Besides, exports to western markets will require setting up labs to monitor pesticide residues and a post-harvest cold chain, in addition to registering growers and closely monitoring on-farm practices. Of course, Bihar can take a cue from the successful export market developed by the enterprising table grape growers of Nashik, Maharashtra. In 2024, India exported a mere 538 tonnes of fresh litchi, less than 0.1% of domestic production. Over 90% went to neighbouring Nepal. In the litchi belt of Bihar, one can still find a few orchardists with a thundering voice, who command a premium in the market. One such name is 84-year-old Bhola Nath Jha. Traders from Lucknow and Delhi visit his sprawling orchard in Muzaffarpur where prices are decided at an on-farm auction. This May, Jha sold Shahi litchis for an impressive ₹85 per kg, nearly four times what others received by pre-selling their harvest. So, what can be done to improve the lot of the average orchardist? According to Jha, it has to begin with dismantling the cartel of traders from Lucknow and Delhi who dictate and depress farm gate prices by providing easy finance to local contractors. 'Provide insurance coverage to orchards as it's a high-risk play. Instead of focusing on exports, set up an efficient transport and cold chain logistics to tap premium consumers within the country. Invest in research to develop technologies that can enhance shelf life," Jha recommended. 'My entire life, I have not received a single complaint on quality. My orchard operations work like clockwork… and years of goodwill bring buyers to my farm," Jha added proudly. That sense of ownership and pride is now a rarity in the orchards of Mithila. The trees are whispering. But is anyone listening?
The Independent
14-05-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Food grown with fewer chemicals? Meet the Brazilian scientist showing the way
A Brazilian scientist has been honoured with this year's prestigious World Food Prize after pushing back against chemical fertilisers and researching biologically based approaches to more robust food production. Microbiologist Mariangela Hungria has won the $500,000 prize from the Iowa-based World Food Prize Foundation after her research helped her country become an agricultural powerhouse. Hungria has been researching biological seed and soil treatments for 40 years, and has worked with Brazilian farmers to implement her findings. 'I still cannot believe it. Everybody said, my whole life, it's improbable, you are going the wrong way, just go to things like chemicals and so on. And then, I received the most important prize in the world of agriculture," Hungria said. "Sometimes I still think I'll wake up and see that it's not true.' Norman Borlaug, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his work to dramatically increase crop yields and reduce the threat of starvation in many countries, founded the World Food Prize. Since the first prize was handed out in 1987, 55 people have been honoured. Hungria said she grew up wanting to alleviate hunger. Early in her career, she decided to focus on a process called biological nitrogen fixation, in which soil bacteria could be used to promote plant growth. At that time, farmers in Brazil and around the world were reluctant to reduce their use of nitrogen fertilisers, which dramatically increase crop production but lead to greenhouse gas emissions and pollute waterways. Hungria studied how bacteria can interact with plant roots to naturally produce nitrogen. She then demonstrated her work on test plots and began working directly with farmers to convince them that they wouldn't have to sacrifice high crop yields if they switched to a biological process. The work is credited for increasing yields of several crops, including wheat, corn and beans, but it has been especially effective on soybeans. Brazil has since become the world's largest soybean producer, surpassing the United States and Argentina. Although Hungria's research could be applied on farms in other countries, soybean production in the U.S. is different than it is in Brazil; American farmers typically rotate crops on their land between growing corn and soybeans. Enough nitrate fertiliser applied to corn still remains in the soil when soybeans are planted that little or no fertiliser needs to be applied, Hungria said. Brazilian agricultural companies have faced fierce criticism for clearing forested land to create farmland, largely to grow soybeans. Much of that criticism is justified, Hungria said, but she added that her biological approach builds up the soil and makes further encroachment into forested areas less necessary. 'If you manage the crop well, the crop will enrich the soil with nitrogen. Soil health improves if you do the right things,' she said. Hungria will be awarded her prize at an annual October gathering in Des Moines of agricultural researchers and officials from around the world. Gebisa Ejeta, chair of the World Food Prize Laureate Selection Committee, credited Hungria for her 'extraordinary scientific achievements' that have transformed agriculture in South America. "Her brilliant scientific work and her committed vision for advancing sustainable crop production to feed humanity with judicious use of chemical fertiliser inputs and biological amendments has gained her global recognition both at home and abroad,' Ejeta said in a statement.
Asharq Al-Awsat
14-05-2025
- Science
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Food Grown with Fewer Chemicals? A Brazilian Scientist Wins $500,000 for Showing the Way
A Brazilian scientist who pushed back against chemical fertilizers and researched biologically based approaches to more robust food production has been honored with this year's World Food Prize, the organization announced Tuesday. Microbiologist Mariangela Hungria's research helped her country become an agricultural powerhouse, an accomplishment that has now won her $500,000 from the Iowa-based World Food Prize Foundation. Hungria has been researching biological seed and soil treatments for 40 years and has worked with Brazilian farmers to implement her findings. "I still cannot believe it. Everybody said, my whole life, it's improbable, you are going the wrong way, just go to things like chemicals and so on. And then, I received the most important prize in the world of agriculture," Hungria said in an interview. "Sometimes I still think I'll wake up and see that it's not true." Norman Borlaug, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his work to dramatically increase crop yields and reduce the threat of starvation in many countries, founded the World Food Prize. Since the first prize was handed out in 1987, 55 people have been honored. Hungria said she grew up wanting to alleviate hunger. Early in her career, she decided to focus on a process called biological nitrogen fixation, in which soil bacteria could be used to promote plant growth. At that time, farmers in Brazil and around the world were reluctant to reduce their use of nitrogen fertilizers, which dramatically increase crop production but lead to greenhouse gas emissions and pollutes waterways. Hungria studied how bacteria can interact with plant roots to naturally produce nitrogen. She then demonstrated her work on test plots and began working directly with farmers to convince them that they wouldn't have to sacrifice high crop yields if they switched to a biological process. The work is credited for increasing yields of several crops, including wheat, corn and beans, but it has been especially affective on soybeans. Brazil has since become the world's largest soybean producer, surpassing the United States and Argentina. Although Hungria's research could be applied on farms in other countries, soybean production in the US is different than it is in Brazil; American farmers typically rotate crops on their land between growing corn and soybeans. Enough nitrate fertilizer applied to corn still remains in the soil when soybeans are planted that little or no fertilizer needs to be applied, Hungria said. Brazilian agricultural companies have faced fierce criticism for clearing forested land to create farmland, largely to grow soybeans. Much of that criticism is justified, Hungria said, but she added that her biological approach builds up the soil and makes further encroachment into forested areas less necessary. "If you manage the crop well, the crop will enrich the soil with nitrogen. Soil health improves if you do the right things," she said. Hungria will be awarded her prize at an annual October gathering in Des Moines, Iowa, of agricultural researchers and officials from around the world. Gebisa Ejeta, chair of the World Food Prize Laureate Selection Committee, credited Hungria for her "extraordinary scientific achievements" that have transformed agriculture in South America. "Her brilliant scientific work and her committed vision for advancing sustainable crop production to feed humanity with judicious use of chemical fertilizer inputs and biological amendments has gained her global recognition both at home and abroad," Ejeta said in a statement.
CTV News
14-05-2025
- Science
- CTV News
Food grown with fewer chemicals? A Brazilian scientist wins US$500,000 for showing the way
DES MOINES, Iowa — A Brazilian scientist who pushed back against chemical fertilizers and researched biologically based approaches to more robust food production has been honored with this year's World Food Prize, the organization announced Tuesday. Microbiologist Mariangela Hungria's research helped her country become an agricultural powerhouse, an accomplishment that has now won her $500,000 from the Iowa-based World Food Prize Foundation. Hungria has been researching biological seed and soil treatments for 40 years, and has worked with Brazilian farmers to implement her findings. 'I still cannot believe it. Everybody said, my whole life, it's improbable, you are going the wrong way, just go to things like chemicals and so on. And then, I received the most important prize in the world of agriculture,' Hungria said in an interview. 'Sometimes I still think I'll wake up and see that it's not true.' Norman Borlaug, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his work to dramatically increase crop yields and reduce the threat of starvation in many countries, founded the World Food Prize. Since the first prize was handed out in 1987, 55 people have been honored. Hungria said she grew up wanting to alleviate hunger. Early in her career, she decided to focus on a process called biological nitrogen fixation, in which soil bacteria could be used to promote plant growth. At that time, farmers in Brazil and around the world were reluctant to reduce their use of nitrogen fertilizers, which dramatically increase crop production but lead to greenhouse gas emissions and pollutes waterways. Hungria studied how bacteria can interact with plant roots to naturally produce nitrogen. She then demonstrated her work on test plots and began working directly with farmers to convince them that they wouldn't have to sacrifice high crop yields if they switched to a biological process. The work is credited for increasing yields of several crops, including wheat, corn and beans, but it has been especially affective on soybeans. Brazil has since become the world's largest soybean producer, surpassing the United States and Argentina. Although Hungria's research could be applied on farms in other countries, soybean production in the U.S. is different than it is in Brazil; American farmers typically rotate crops on their land between growing corn and soybeans. Enough nitrate fertilizer applied to corn still remains in the soil when soybeans are planted that little or no fertilizer needs to be applied, Hungria said. Brazilian agricultural companies have faced fierce criticism for clearing forested land to create farmland, largely to grow soybeans. Much of that criticism is justified, Hungria said, but she added that her biological approach builds up the soil and makes further encroachment into forested areas less necessary. 'If you manage the crop well, the crop will enrich the soil with nitrogen. Soil health improves if you do the right things,' she said. Hungria will be awarded her prize at an annual October gathering in Des Moines, Iowa, of agricultural researchers and officials from around the world. Gebisa Ejeta, chair of the World Food Prize Laureate Selection Committee, credited Hungria for her 'extraordinary scientific achievements' that have transformed agriculture in South America. 'Her brilliant scientific work and her committed vision for advancing sustainable crop production to feed humanity with judicious use of chemical fertilizer inputs and biological amendments has gained her global recognition both at home and abroad,' Ejeta said in a statement. Scott Mcfetridge, The Associated Press
Arab News
13-05-2025
- Science
- Arab News
Food grown with fewer chemicals? A Brazilian scientist wins $500,000 for showing the way
DES MOINES, Iowa: A Brazilian scientist who pushed back against chemical fertilizers and researched biologically based approaches to more robust food production has been honored with this year's World Food Prize, the organization announced Tuesday. Microbiologist Mariangela Hungria's research helped her country become an agricultural powerhouse, an accomplishment that has now won her $500,000 from the Iowa-based World Food Prize Foundation. Hungria has been researching biological seed and soil treatments for 40 years, and has worked with Brazilian farmers to implement her findings. 'I still cannot believe it. Everybody said, my whole life, it's improbable, you are going the wrong way, just go to things like chemicals and so on. And then, I received the most important prize in the world of agriculture,' Hungria said in an interview. 'Sometimes I still think I'll wake up and see that it's not true.' Norman Borlaug, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his work to dramatically increase crop yields and reduce the threat of starvation in many countries, founded the World Food Prize. Since the first prize was handed out in 1987, 55 people have been honored. Hungria said she grew up wanting to alleviate hunger. Early in her career, she decided to focus on a process called biological nitrogen fixation, in which soil bacteria could be used to promote plant growth. At that time, farmers in Brazil and around the world were reluctant to reduce their use of nitrogen fertilizers, which dramatically increase crop production but lead to greenhouse gas emissions and pollutes waterways. Hungria studied how bacteria can interact with plant roots to naturally produce nitrogen. She then demonstrated her work on test plots and began working directly with farmers to convince them that they wouldn't have to sacrifice high crop yields if they switched to a biological process. The work is credited for increasing yields of several crops, including wheat, corn and beans, but it has been especially affective on soybeans. Brazil has since become the world's largest soybean producer, surpassing the United States and Argentina. Although Hungria's research could be applied on farms in other countries, soybean production in the US is different than it is in Brazil; American farmers typically rotate crops on their land between growing corn and soybeans. Enough nitrate fertilizer applied to corn still remains in the soil when soybeans are planted that little or no fertilizer needs to be applied, Hungria said. Brazilian agricultural companies have faced fierce criticism for clearing forested land to create farmland, largely to grow soybeans. Much of that criticism is justified, Hungria said, but she added that her biological approach builds up the soil and makes further encroachment into forested areas less necessary. 'If you manage the crop well, the crop will enrich the soil with nitrogen. Soil health improves if you do the right things,' she said. Hungria will be awarded her prize at an annual October gathering in Des Moines of agricultural researchers and officials from around the world. Gebisa Ejeta, chair of the World Food Prize Laureate Selection Committee, credited Hungria for her 'extraordinary scientific achievements' that have transformed agriculture in South America. 'Her brilliant scientific work and her committed vision for advancing sustainable crop production to feed humanity with judicious use of chemical fertilizer inputs and biological amendments has gained her global recognition both at home and abroad,' Ejeta said in a statement.
