From the Ponds of Bihar to Walmart Shelves: The Rise of Makhana

Niraj Kumar

7th November, 2025

"Born in still waters, Bihar’s makhana is quietly making waves across the world"

Few crops in India tell a story of survival and success as gracefully as makhana. Amid the wetlands of Mithila, a quiet revolution is unfolding as the tiny white seed journeys from the ponds of Bihar to supermarket shelves worldwide. Once a humble household snack, it now stands as a global symbol of health, enterprise, and rural resilience.

A Symbol of Resilience and Renewal

Makhana continues to reign at the heart of Bihar’s identity. Season after season, it rises from the ponds of Mithila, nourishing families, empowering women, uplifting the underprivileged, and carrying Bihar’s story of resilience and renewal to markets across the world. It is more than a crop; it is a living symbol of endurance, enterprise, and self-reliance that connects heritage with modernity and transforms tradition into health. It endures.

Photo Credit: Makhana.org

Mithila’s White Gold: The humble makhana that’s now a global superfood

The Seed of Heritage

Makhana, also known as foxnut (Euryale ferox), is cultivated in still water bodies, such as ponds, wetlands, and lakes. Farmers dive into muddy ponds to collect prickly fruits, sun-dry the seeds, roast them in hot sand, and pop them by hand. The air fills with the sound of cracking shells, a music of painstaking livelihoods passed from one generation to the next.

In the Mithila region, makhana is both sacred and staple, offered to deities during Chhath Puja, served in festive feasts, and shared in weddings. It is Bihar’s own superfood, deeply rooted in its sanskaar and way of life.

Bihar’s Natural Monopoly

Bihar contributes nearly 90 per cent of India’s makhana output, with the majority of production concentrated in the districts of Darbhanga, Madhubani, Katihar, Purnia, Supaul, and Araria.

The GI-tagged “Mithila Makhana” officially recognises this legacy, ensuring that the brand and benefits stay anchored to its soil.

Behind every popped makhana lies an entire rural value chain, from pond owners and divers to collectors, dryers, roasters, and traders, all bound together by this edible pearl that grows beneath Bihar’s waters and sustains countless livelihoods.

Photo courtesy: Instagram callmekaushik

Crafted by hand, nurtured by toil: The real strength behind makhana

From Ritual to Retail: A Superfood Rises

For years, makhana remained confined to religious offerings and home snacks. Then came India’s wellness wave, and the humble foxnut quietly transformed into a star of the health-food world. Low in fat, gluten-free, and rich in protein and antioxidants, it soon captured the imagination of health-conscious consumers.

What once sold in village haats now travels in zip-lock pouches to London and Los Angeles. Start-ups and FMCG majors such as Too Yumm and Patanjali have entered the space with flavoured variants like Himalayan salt, peri-peri, cheese, and caramel. The domestic market is growing at over 15% annually, while exports to the US, UK, and Gulf countries continue to expand.

Recent research from Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, has identified bioactive compounds in makhana with potential therapeutic value, adding scientific strength to its traditional reputation as an energy and fertility booster. Makhana is no longer just a snack; it has become a proud addition to India’s basket of indigenous nutritious foods, symbolising a shift from tradition to modernity and from mere sustenance to holistic health.

 The Political Economy of Ponds

Every hectare of pond under cultivation generates several times more employment than paddy or maize. From pond preparation to popping, it engages men and women alike, weaving livelihoods into every stage of its cycle. In Bihar, even the ponds work hard. Makhana thrives in shallow waters that rarely support other crops, and the rejuvenation of these ponds brings back life, biodiversity, and hope.

Photo courtesy: Mithila Makhana

A Madhubani reflection: Celebrating women and makhana together

For women, the makhana chain has quietly become a ladder of empowerment. Across north Bihar, under initiatives like JEEViKA and Mission Shakti, hundreds of women’s self-help groups have turned roasting, grading, and packaging into thriving micro-enterprises. Their brands, such as Mithila Magic, Makhana Queen, and Shakti Snacks, symbolise confidence and tell a new story of rural women stepping into both national and international markets with pride and purpose.

“When we roast makhana, it feels like roasting our own dreams,” says Poonam Devi, a self-help group leader from Madhubani. Across north Bihar, women like her are transforming traditional labour into enterprise. Their collective packaging units, digital marketing on WhatsApp and Instagram, and partnerships with local retail stores are redefining what empowerment looks like in rural India.

Challenges Beneath the Waterline

Beneath the calm surface of Bihar’s ponds lie serious challenges. Most farmers still rely on traditional methods that demand intense manual labour but deliver low yields. Processing remains fragmented, with small, popping units scattered across villages, often using inefficient stoves and lacking consistent quality. Infrastructure such as drying yards, packaging units, and cold-chain facilities is inadequate, limiting the sector’s scalability.

Market margins are thin, as traders and processors outside Bihar capture most of the value while local producers remain price-takers. Adding to these pressures are wetland encroachments, erratic rainfall, and heavy siltation, which are steadily reducing the area under makhana cultivation. Without sustained policy attention and investment, Bihar risks remaining a supplier of raw material rather than emerging as a vibrant hub for value-added makhana products.

From Ponds to Processing Parks

To move from potential to performance, Bihar now needs a bold and coordinated multi-sectoral approach. The establishment of dedicated Makhana Processing Parks in Darbhanga and Purnia, with shared roasting, grading, and packaging facilities, can create regional hubs of efficiency and scale. Research and mechanisation should be expanded by scaling up technologies developed by the ICAR Research Complex for the Eastern Region to automate critical steps such as seed separation, drying, and popping. Equally important is skill development through makhana-focused modules under the PM-FME and Krishi Vigyan Kendra programmes to train rural youth and members of self-help groups. Photo Courtesy: Farmley

Traditional taste in a modern pack: Makhana’s journey from Bihar's pond to supermarket shelves

Building a strong brand identity through the Mithila Makhana GI tag, with packaging and quality standards comparable to Darjeeling Tea or Alphonso Mango, will strengthen its national and global presence. A supportive export ecosystem coordinated through APEDA can provide certification and marketing support via facilitation centres in Patna and Muzaffarpur. Finally, better financial linkages are essential, enabling farmer-producer organisations (FPOs) and women’s collectives to access credit under the Agri-Infra Fund and the National Rural Livelihoods Mission. With such integrated efforts, makhana could well become Bihar’s first billion-dollar agri-value chain within the next decade.

The Global Snack with a Local Soul

The global market for popped foxnuts is projected to exceed USD 65 million by 2030, expanding at nearly 20% annually. India already dominates global supply, and Bihar stands firmly at its epicentre, the land where makhana was born and still thrives. If the state can position Mithila Makhana as an organic, fair-trade, and climate-smart superfood, it could replicate the success of Peru in promoting quinoa or Colombia in elevating coffee to a symbol of national pride. The message is clear and compelling: makhana is not just from Bihar, it is Bihar’s brand to the world.

The Unchanging Symbol of Bihar

Bihar’s story is often told through migration and struggle; yet, in the shimmer of its ponds lies another truth: legacy, endurance, and quiet enterprise. Makhana has become the state’s living metaphor, rooted in heritage, resilient in spirit, and ready for the world. Season after season, it renews life and livelihoods across Mithila, standing as the taste of tradition and the pride of Bihar. It is the seed of a quiet rural renaissance and a symbol of India’s growing pride. Insha’Allah, our makhana will continue to shine at the heart of Bihar’s identity for generations to come.

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Feature Photo courtesy: Instagram, callmekaushal