Makhana research centre in Darbhanga gets back national status

The Research Centre of Makhana (RCM) at Darbhanga in Bihar has been redesignated as National Research Centre for Makhana (NRCM), according to an official notification issued by Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) on Monday.

The centre will now operate under the administrative control of the ICAR.

Gopal Jee Thakur, Lok Sabha member from Darbhanga, who has been pushing for restoration of national status for the centre, thanked the Narendra Modi government at the Centre for the decision.

NRCM was established in 2002 during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure as the Prime Minister.

Thakur, who is from BJP, said NRCM was reduced to RCM during the Congress-led UPA regime in 2005.

Mithila region in Bihar accounts for approximately 90% of global production of Makhana, also known as fox nut, a highly nutritious aquatic crop.

NRCM focuses on the conservation, research, and development of Makhana, Its mandate has now been expanded to include other aquatic crops, including fish.

Earlier, in August, the union government awarded the Geographic Indication (GI) tag to Mithila Makhana, making it the 15th GI tagged commodity in Bihar and the 5th agricultural product in the state to receive this recognition. GI tag enhances the visibility and market value of the product.

Dr Manoj Kumar, the current head of RCM, said restoration of the national status for the centre means NRCM will now have a separate budget, enabling more expeditious research and development activities. “The centre is expected to make recruitments to fill more than 40 vacant positions, while laboratory and research facilities will also be enhanced,” he said.

Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar, during his visit to the research centre in March this year, had assured serious consideration on the demand to restore its national status.

Dr Shyam Narayan Jha, deputy director general (agriculture engineering) at ICAR, who played an instrumental role in the restoration of the national status for the centre, said a seed popping mechanism has been devised with a popping machine already developed at the Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET), Ludhiana. This technology significantly reduces processing time.

In recognition of its outstanding implementation of the One District One Product scheme (ODOP) for Makhana, Darbhanga district was awarded the prestigious Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in 2021. Additionally, new varieties of Makhana seeds have been notified under the Seed Act in the Gazette of India, enabling their sale for agricultural purposes. These initiatives aim to ensure that growers receive maximum remuneration for their premium produce.