India is primarily an agricultural country. More than 75% of the population depends on agriculture. Farmers are the backbone of the nation. Without them, we cannot survive.
They sweat it out day in day out without rest. They are highly involved in tilling the soil, sowing the seeds, watering the fields, reaping and harvesting the crop and then they sell it to the market.
The sad reality is that they are less unfortunate people who giving absolutely everything to the nation. They dedicate their whole life to us but they themselves live a poor life. Needless to say, they can also be called the ‘God of the soil’.
Meanwhile, a farmer from Bihar grew a special vegetable that costs Rs 85,000 per kg. Interestingly, the vegetable will treat cancer.
Hop Shoots, a special vegetable grown by a farmer in Bihar took the social media by storm after an IAS officer tweeted a collage of two photos and wrote: ”One kilogram of this vegetable costs a little less than ₹ 1 lakh! World’s costliest vegetable, ‘hop-shoots’ is being cultivated by Amresh Singh an enterprising farmer from Bihar, the first one in India. Can be a game changer for Indian farmers.”
Hailing from the Karamdhih village, the 38-year-old farmer Singh has been growing the world’s costliest crop in his farmland in Bihar’s Aurangabad. As per a New Indian Express report, the farmer invested Rs 2.5 lakhs in the production process. The crop is identified as hop-shoots, a plant that is available in the international market. He sells it for a whopping Rs 85,000 a kilogram.
“I am happy to say that more than 60 percent of its cultivation has happened successfully,” Singh was quoted as saying by New Indian Express.
The hop (Humulus lupulus – is a perennial plant) is a native of North America and Europe. It is to be noted that the hop shoots were believed to be a weed until its properties were known.
As per the website agrifarming.in, hop shoots have ”antibacterial effects”. Apart from these many benefits, it is also used for bittering, flavouring’ and as a ‘stability agent in beer’.
One of the main reasons why it is expensive is because the crop is mostly seen in international markets. However, it only seen in Indian markets only when a customer or someone places a special order. The special vegetable reportedly sold for £1000 (Rs 1.01 lakh) pounds a kg even 6 years ago in international markets.
As per several reports, hop-shoots play an important role in creating antibodies that help fight dangerous diseases like TB. Its acids are known to assist kill cancer cells and block leukaemia cells. However, Amresh Singh isn’t the first one to cultivate such a crop in India. Earlier, it was grown in Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul but didn’t much reach due to poor marketing.