Pearl farming is slowly and surely catching the light in Bihar

Pearl farming is an emerging enterprise in Bihar, with 25 farmers across the state. Pearl farming is laborious, but provides higher rewards than traditional farming, with the potential to employ 12 lakh people if subsidies are provided.

With 76% of its population engaged in agriculture, principally in growing food crops (paddy, wheat, maize and pulses), with a small percentage of farmers are engaged in raising cash crops, including sugarcane, potato, tobacco, oilseeds, onion, chillies, and jute, farming is the main source of employment and wealth in Bihar. In the past few years, however, some farmers have been switching to more remunerative alternatives. Pearl farming is one such emerging enterprise, with the potential to deliver superior annual earnings.

There are only about 25 pearl farmers across Bihar currently. In the Nalanda district, most pearl farmers are male. Madhu Patel, a mother of two in her mid-forties, is a lone exception. Ms. Patel’s willingness to adopt modern agri-tech practices has heralded transformative change in her life.

“The first time I heard about pearl farming was in 2016 while watching a show on TV. I enquired a lot about this at the Agriculture Department but nobody had any knowledge about it. They told me that there was no scheme for pearl farming offered by the department. Then, in 2017, I went to CIFA (Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture) in Bhubaneswar and undertook training in pearl farming,” Ms. Patel, who holds an M.Sc. from Nalanda College, recalled.

Her first attempt at farming pearls left her with a big loss as the mortality rate was quite high — only 10% of oysters survived and the rest died.

“I did not lose hope and thought that if 10% [of oysters] are alive, pearl farming can be done in Bihar also. I contacted CIFA once again and briefed them about my first attempt, and they gave me some tips. I also realised the mistakes I had made. Then, when I tried again in 2018, the mortality rate was 20% — 80% of the oysters survived! After this, I never looked back, and now, I earn ₹12 lakh to ₹15 lakh every year from pearl farming,” Ms. Patel said.

Ms. Patel farms her pearls in a 27,2220 sq. ft. pond (the approximate equivalent of 1 bigha of land). It takes about 12-18 months to harvest pearls — the more time it takes, the better the results, she said. It takes at least four-five years to create round-shaped pearls.

Each oyster, which contains two pearls, costs ₹6 to ₹10 apiece, and she purchases them in Nalanda itself. For her current harvest, Ms. Patel has planted 5,500 oysters. Depending on its design, each harvested pearl may fetch between ₹150 to ₹300. As she’s unable to secure a good price for them in Bihar, Ms. Patel sells her pearls to a steady set of buyers in Hyderabad, Surat, Mumbai and Delhi.