JOIN USBihar farmer tries his luck with 'extinct' hop shoots worth Rs 1 lakh per kg: Report
A crop that sells for Rs 1 lakh per kg abroad is now in cultivation in Bihar's Aurangabad.
Amresh Singh, a farmer from Karamdih village under the Navinagar block of Bihar’s Aurangabad district, is trying his hand at cultivating 'hop shoots', touted as 'world's costliest crop'. Amresh planted the sapling a couple of months ago after buying the saplings from the Indian Vegetable Research Institute at Varanasi. Given the rarity of the crop in Indian markets, it is bought only upon special orders and deliveries also take a long time.
An Intermediate-pass from Hazaribagh’s St. Columbus College, the 38-year-old farmer is the first to start hop shoots cultivation on 5 kathas of land, said a New Indian Express report.
"I am happy to say that more than 60 per cent of its cultivation has happened successfully," Singh told the publication.
What makes this plant so special is that every part of the plant right from the fruit, flower to the stem has multiple usages, said Singh. It is very useful to the beer industry as the crop's flower, the hop-cones or strobile, serves as a stability agent. It is also a potential natural remedy for managing tuberculosis and can be used for skin care.
Discovered in the early 11th century, the crop was used as flavouring agent in beer and then its use in herbal medicine and as a vegetable gradually.
European countries like Britain and Germany already have a set market for hop shoots. In terms of India, hop shoots' cultivation used to happen in Himachal Pradesh but was gradually halted.
Why did Himachal stop cultivating hop shoots?
While the cultivation of the crop is being encouraged as it would help farmers grow financially, a recent report by The Tribune said that hop shoots' cultivation is going extinct. This is specifically happening in Himachal's Lahaul and Spiti because farmers are unable to get a good price for the crop. Since the cultivation is based on traditional farming, it has failed to increase production.
Local farmers have mostly suffered because the crop can be obtained at cheaper rates from markets abroad.
“The price of hops in the market is Rs 50 per kg, while the cost of production is quite high. The arrival of hybrid hops from abroad into the Indian market hits the farmers of the state badly, which forced them to shun its cultivation. Farmers in foreign countries are equipped with modern techniques of farming to enhance production and cut down the expenditure of labour cost,” Amrit Lal, a native of Lahaul and former manager of Lahaul Hops Marketing Society told the publication.