Makhana – the global food really needs no introduction. This popular super food has travelled the globe and forms a part of daily lives of all health freaks. From the humble beginnings in the Madhubani district in the Indian state of Bihar, it is now being exported across continents to meet the rising demand. This commercially grown and used plant is commonly found and naturally grows in stagnant water bodies including ponds, certain land depressions, oxbow lakes, swamps and ditches. It is a plant that naturally grows and flourishes in tropical and subtropical climatic conditions. In the initial years of commercial production, the plant’s distribution was limited to tropical and sub-tropical regions of South-East and East Asia and other countries including in Japan, Korea, Russia, North America, Nepal, Bangladesh to name a few. In India, the makhana seeds are distributed in different states including West Bengal, Bihar, Manipur, Tripura, Assam, Jammu & Kashmir, Eastern Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. However, the commercial cultivation and processing is limited to North Bihar, Manipur, parts of West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh. This any time food is loaded with all the right nutritional elements that is required by the human body. High Fiber Content, Low in Calories, High in Potassium, low Glycemic Index(GI), phool makhana is used in Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for managing various diseases including weight loss, insomnia, diarrhea, kidney ailment, digestion problems, chronic inflammation managing bone and teeth health, and also host of other common ailments. Makhana is widely used for starching fabrics and its bran is also used as an input material for creating poultry feed. Makhana or lotus seeds are also called as Black Diamond; this is because it has changed the fortunes of the poor fisherman and farmers and have provided them with a stable source of income and livelihood to thousands of families engaged in the cultivation process, especially in the Indian states of Bihar and Manipur. The United States of America, Countries in the European Union including Spain, Netherland, Germany, France; New Zealand, Australia, Korea are some of the countries that have witnessed a steep hike in the demand, thereby creating lucrative business opportunities for all stakeholders involved in the makhana production and supply chain

We provided training program, the 7 days training program on the Cultivation of Makhana, a crop which is found to have a high profit to cost ratio. We want to make people aware of its economical benefits and how they can become financially more stable.

Areas covered in training:

• About Makhana Plant(water lily)
• Crop Production
• Pond system
• Field system
• Harvesting
• Post Harvesting