Latest news with #NormanBorlaug
Indian Express
14-07-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Express view: Lend a hand
The Mexico-headquartered International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) — synonymous with Norman Borlaug, the 'father of the Green Revolution' — is seeking financial support from India. This comes as the Donald Trump administration has shut down the US Agency for International Development, which provided $83 million out of CIMMYT's total $211 million revenue grants to fund its global breeding research and development programme in the two cereal crops. CIMMYT basically wants countries such as India to fill the void left by the US that, under President Trump, has adopted a transactional approach to foreign policy; it no longer sees value in cultivating soft power or projecting a positive image of the US on the world stage. There are at least three reasons why India should consider stepping up its funding of CIMMYT, or even the Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). The first is that the money these organisations require isn't all that big. A country with $700 billion in official foreign exchange reserves can afford more than the $0.8 million and $18.3 million that it gave to CIMMYT and IRRI respectively in 2024. The second is the international goodwill this creates, consistent with the leadership role that India is increasingly taking within the Global South and given that it is also acting as a bridge with the developed North: There can be no peace and stability without food security. Third, India has stakes in both organisations that played a stellar role in turning it from ship-to-mouth to self-sufficient, if not surplus, in wheat and rice. But the challenge is to grow these crops using less water and fertiliser, besides making them tolerant to rising temperatures, salinity and other abiotic stresses. Breeding today for tomorrow's climate is a strategic imperative for a country that cannot, beyond a point, depend on others to feed 1.7 billion mouths by 2060. This extends to maize too. As Indians consume more animal products with rising incomes, the demand for it as feed — and now also as a fuel grain — will only go up. But it's not only CIMMYT and IRRI. India must simultaneously strengthen its national agricultural research system that has suffered from a lack of resources (too little money spread across too many institutes), leadership and sense of purpose. The Green Revolution owed its success as much to Borlaug as to MS Swaminathan, the Indian Agricultural Research Institute and a minister like C Subramaniam, who could make tough calls based on scientific opinion and what the situation demanded. Contrast this with the present procrastination, whether on commercialisation of genetically modified crops or allowing under-pricing of fertilisers, water and electricity. The Indian farmer today faces practical problems that only science and applied research, not subsidies, can address.
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
I saw Iran praise an Iowa hero. Can Norman Borlaug's legacy foster peace today?
With President Donald Trump set to visit Iowa tonight, July 3, to launch the year-long celebration of America's 250th birthday, he might be surprised to learn that there is a unique Iowa-Iran connection, one that could provide an unparalleled opportunity to build a lasting peace process in the Middle East. This connection with Iran is based on the legacy of America's greatest agricultural scientist in its 250-year history: Iowa native and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Norman Borlaug, the father of the Green Revolution, whose statue in the U.S. Capitol has inscribed on its base "The Man Who Saved a Billion Lives." I learned of this Iowa-Iran connection when serving as chairman of the Borlaug Statue Committee appointed by Gov. Terry Branstad. My role was to lead the process to select the artist to create the statue and raise all of the private funds needed to complete the project. To give an idea about how esteemed Borlaug is in Iowa, I raised all $550,000 in three conversations lasting a total of seven minutes. On March 25, 2014, the exact 100th anniversary of Norman Borlaug's birth on a farm in Howard County near the Minnesota border, his statue (created by Benjamin Victor, the only living artist with four statues in the U.S. Capitol) was unveiled in Statuary Hall. Both Branstad and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, a former governor, gave meaningful remarks, as did Sens. Chuck Grassley and Tom Harkin of Iowa. It was one of the greatest days in Iowa history. Three months later I received an email from a university expressing the hope that they could purchase a copy of our statue in the U.S. Capitol to install on their campus. This was not unusual given how Borlaug is held in highest regard around the globe, from Mexico to India (where statues of him already exist) and across the Middle East where his 'Miracle Wheat' saved hundreds of millions from famine, starvation and death in the late 1960s. But, I was stunned that the university involved was the Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran (ABRII). Reflecting the fact that Borlaug's wheat had also saved millions of lives in Iran, the Tehran government had presented a gold medal to him in 2000. Now, to commemorate the centennial of Borlaug's birth, ABRII was holding a conference in August of 2014 to honor his legacy. The message concluded with an invitation for me to deliver the keynote address. With a sense of curiosity tempered by considerable trepidation, I accepted their invitation. While the U.S. sanctions on Iran ultimately did not allow ABRII to purchase a copy of our Iowa statue, my wife, Le Son, and I nonetheless arrived in Tehran just past midnight on Aug. 26. Eight hours later, I was on the stage looking out at a standing-room-only auditorium, filled with Iranian scientists and government officials, including the minister of agriculture and a stern-faced mullah representing the Grand Ayotallah, who glared menacingly at me. Considering that no other former senior American official had ever been invited to speak in Iran, I was wondering if I had made a serious mistake in being there. I began by describing Borlaug as part of Iowa's rich legacy of agricultural citizen diplomacy to build relationships with former adversaries, such as: Herbert Hoover taking food to feed children in the Soviet Union at the end of World War I; the Yamanashi Hog Lift, which took Iowa animals to Japan following a devastating typhoon not long after World War II; George Washington Carver's advice to Mahatma Gandhi during India's struggle to throw off British colonial rule; and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev's visit to an Iowa farm in 1959 at the height of the Cold War. I said that I was continuing this approach of peace through agriculture that underscored Borlaug's life, through the World Food Prize he had founded and I was now leading. In making that point, I showed a slide of Daniel Hillel, the Israeli irrigation pioneer receiving the World Food Prize in 2012 in Des Moines with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon joining in making the presentation. More: Iowa 'Citizen Diplomacy' can promote peace through agriculture in Africa I noted that Hillel, a Jew, had been nominated by three Muslim scientists, and that in the audience among the people from 70 countries who were standing and applauding him were the daughter of King Hussein of Jordan, an Arab sheikh from Qatar, and an Israeli diplomat, who said to me that 'maybe we should hold all of our Middle East negotiations in Iowa.' Stressing to that Iranian audience that our planet is not on course to meet the greatest challenge in human history — whether we can sustainably feed the 10 billion people who will inhabit our planet by the year 2050 — I noted that Borlaug's unfulfilled dream was that wheat rust disease could be eradicated using biotechnology, dramatically increasing the food supply. I invited the Iranian minister of agriculture to send his top scientist working on biotechnology to Des Moines to take part in a special panel on combatting wheat rust disease at our World Food Prize Borlaug Dialogue International Symposium in October, which he did. Then, I recalled the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, I said I'd heard Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel say that people who can stand and sing or cheer together can live in peace together. I painted a verbal picture of two scientists — one from Iran and one from the United States — who, having fulfilled Borlaug's dream of eradicating wheat rust disease through biotechnology, were walking into the Iowa State Capitol together to receive the World Food Prize, just as Daniel Hillel had done. I concluded saying that 'we could then all stand together and cheer together for this great Iranian-American achievement, and live in peace together.' I stepped back from the podium uncertain of and unprepared for the reaction that followed. Led by the minister and the mullah, the audience sprang to their feet in unison and gave me a prolonged standing ovation. Many in the audience surged to congratulate me on my remarks as I walked off the stage. The cleric representing the Grand Ayatollah was particularly animated, almost running to congratulate me, and effusively pumping my hand while praising my statement. Norman Borlaug is perhaps the only individual on our planet who is revered in Tehran and Texas, where Borlaug taught for over 30 years and where his statue stands on the campus of Texas A&M University. More: An 'Iowa Outreach Corps' could, and should, change the world Given the critical importance of bringing a lasting peace to the Middle East, and the extraordinary global agricultural challenge facing our planet, the state of Iowa, the home of the first mosque in America, and Norman Borlaug's legacy with Iran combined provide a unique opportunity for American diplomacy and Iowa citizen diplomacy to successfully address both existential challenges. Wouldn't it be amazing if, five decades after Iowa's greatest hero and America's greatest agricultural scientist received the Nobel Peace Prize, his legacy could inspire an American led process to achieve 'Peace Through Agriculture' between Iran and Israel and across the Middle East, as a capstone to our country's 250th anniversary celebration? We could then commission Benjamin Victor to create another statue of Borlaug to present to Iran to be put up on the ABRII campus. Kenneth Quinn grew up in Dubuque. He served for 32 years as a Foreign Service Officer culminating with his assignment as U.S. ambassador to Cambodia. During that career, he received the State Department Award for Heroism for five life saving rescues he carried out in Vietnam. He was president of the World Food Prize from 2000 to 2020. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Unique Iowa-Iran connection gives hope for Middle East peace | Opinion
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
We need city-level mosquito spraying in Des Moines
I was thoroughly captured by the July 6 column of Kenneth Quinn where he pointed out the accomplishments of Norman Borlaug and the esteem accorded him by Iranian officials could inspire "Peace Through Agriculture." I feared the conflict involving Israel and Iran would engulf the United States and maybe the world. If Quinn's idea of American and Iranian scientists working together to eradicate wheat rust disease came to pass, a path to peace might be created. Thanks, Mr. Quinn, for a glimmer of hope. Jean M. Dell, Ottumwa It was a joy for me to read Kenneth Quinn's great story of Iowa's son, Norman Borlaug, in the July 6 Register. Earth's population has doubled since Norman Borlaug's Green Revolution and will likely reach 10 billion by 2050. Elizabeth Kolbert's "Seeds of Doubt" in the current issue of The New Yorker asks if a new Green Revolution is needed to feed the world. Borlaug saw his Green Revolution as only a temporary success, and no new breakthroughs are on the horizon. Rigorous (and painful) food supply management may be the best way forward. Food loss/waste, ethanol production, meat consumption and other issues need to be discussed. Carl Bern, Ames More: The Cedar Falls Class of 1995 reunion showed me how Iowa helped us succeed | Opinion We live in Beaverdale and are being eaten alive by mosquitoes. We've had more rain this summer than many previous years. Could the city please rethink priorities and find a way to spray? Steve Green, Des Moines More: Iowa 'Citizen Diplomacy' can promote peace through agriculture in Africa Unplug from your echo chambers: your political ones, your religious ones. Actually meet your neighbors. Grow community. Bridge the divide only amplified by social media. Cultivate true empathy. Make human connections which put faces and names to abstract concepts we struggle with politically. That way, when it comes time to think about the issues yourself, and not just what some paid politicians, lobbyists, or corporations try to tell you to think, your eyes see the faces and names of those affected. Don't let moneyed interests, sycophants, and the performative pious easily sway your moral or ethical convictions. Always pull back and ask yourself if some issues is really worth it, so we're all getting caught up in culture war nonsense. May it be so. Gwen Hope, Pleasant Hill This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iran-agriculture essay was a glimmer of hope | Letters
Indian Express
11-07-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
With USAID shut, Norman Borlaug's institute knocks on India's doors for help
Six decades ago, the legendary agricultural scientist Norman Borlaug ushered in India's Green Revolution through his high-yielding, semi-dwarf wheat varieties such as Lerma Rojo 64A, Sonora 63, Sonora 64 and Mayo 64. Today, his organisation – the Mexico-headquartered International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center or CIMMYT – is reaching out to the Indian government and the private sector, seeking financial support for its breeding research and development programme in the two cereals that cover over a quarter of the world's cropped area. The reason: A funding crunch brought about by global factors, including the shutting down of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) by the Donald Trump administration, officially from July 1. The agency, which administered civilian foreign aid and development assistance for the US government, accounted for about $83 million out of CIMMYT's total grant revenue of $211 million in 2024. That made it CIMMYT's largest funder, followed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (now Gates Foundation), which gave $42 million. 'USAID ceasing operations and other development agencies drastically reducing funding is going to significantly impact our agricultural R&D activities worldwide. While there may be some money this year from projects in winding-down stage, the real effects will be felt from 2026. We are looking for support from countries such as India that have interests in CIMMYT continuing to empower farmers through science and innovation and breeding varieties today for tomorrow's climate,' CIMMYT's director-general, Bram Govaerts, told The Indian Express. CIMMYT's advanced breeding lines are present as parent or grandparent in wheat varieties planted on more than 60 million hectares (mh) globally. The early Green Revolution blockbuster varieties that Indian scientists developed were all through selections from CIMMYT materials. That included Kalyan Sona (released in 1967), Sonalika (1968) and PBW 343 (1995), which, at their peak, were grown on 5-6 mh, 14 mh and 7-8 mh respectively. That hasn't changed much. Last year, Indian farmers sowed wheat on around 32 mh, with the top 10 varieties accounting for over 20 mh. Of these 10 varieties, six were released from CIMMYT-derived germplasm – DBW 187, DBW 303, DBW 222, WH 1270, DBW 327 and PBW 826 – and covered an estimated 15.3 mh (see table). 'Roughly 50% of the wheat cultivated in India now is from varieties released after 2019 and developed through collaboration between CIMMYT and national institutions such as the Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research, Karnal. Our partnership has led to India not only becoming self-sufficient, but even transforming wheat for the world,' Govaerts said. He cited the example of DBW 303, 'the first wheat variety in South Asia to exceed an average grain yield of 8 tonnes per hectare'. Some advanced lines, yet to be released for commercial planting, have even achieved 10-tonnes yield in CIMMYT's field trials. In October 2011, CIMMYT established the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) as a joint venture with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). BISA has three research stations at Ludhiana (Punjab), Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh) and Samastipur (Bihar). CIMMYT has also opened a 'doubled haploid' facility for maize at Kunigal (Karnataka), jointly with the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore. This first-of-its-kind facility in Asia produces genetically pure inbred lines of maize that can be used as parents for further crossing and breeding of hybrids by both public sector institutions and private seed companies. CIMMYT's India office has 19 international and 144 national staff. Besides, some 25 scientists from India work at CIMMYT offices all over the world. 'A tenth of our 1,800-plus global staff are Indians,' Govaerts noted. India's contribution to CIMMYT's budget was just $0.8 million in 2024. While CIMMYT began as a pilot programme of the Mexican government and the Rockefeller Foundation in the 1940s and 50s, over time it became more reliant on funding from USAID and newer non-profits like the Gates Foundation. With USAID's shuttering, India has scope and reason to step up its funding and have a say in CIMMYT. 'India is a neutral voice in world affairs. We, too, are a neutral and apolitical organisation focused on food security that is vital for peace. Borlaug's Nobel Prize (in 1970) was for Peace,' Govaerts added. CIMMYT's current research and field trials are aimed at raising yields as much as breeding varieties with improved heat tolerance, disease resistance and biological nitrification inhibition (BNI) traits. Wheat is increasingly prone to yield losses from mercury spikes in March, at the crop's final grain formation and filling stage. Studies show that every one-degree Celsius rise in night temperatures lowers yields by an average of 6%. By identifying traits in wheat plants that promote heat tolerance, scientists are able to develop varieties better adapted to hotter days as well as warmer nights. The BNI trait can, similarly, make wheat and maize plants hold more nitrogen in the soil, instead of releasing it into the atmosphere. Improved nitrogen retention in soil, in turn, can potentially reduce the application of urea and other nitrogenous fertilisers by up to 20%. CIMMYT has transferred the BNI trait into some of its high-yielding bread wheat lines. BISA, in collaboration with ICAR, has used these pre-breeding donors to develop a pipeline of BNI elite lines, which may be introduced in all-India trials by 2027-end. All this is relevant to India's future food security and consolidating the yield gains from the Green Revolution that Borlaug initiated in the early 1960s. Harikishan Sharma, Senior Assistant Editor at The Indian Express' National Bureau, specializes in reporting on governance, policy, and data. He covers the Prime Minister's Office and pivotal central ministries, such as the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare, Ministry of Cooperation, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Rural Development, and Ministry of Jal Shakti. His work primarily revolves around reporting and policy analysis. In addition to this, he authors a weekly column titled "STATE-ISTICALLY SPEAKING," which is prominently featured on The Indian Express website. In this column, he immerses readers in narratives deeply rooted in socio-economic, political, and electoral data, providing insightful perspectives on these critical aspects of governance and society. ... Read More
Mint
03-06-2025
- 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?
