Patna: Banana production in Bihar has more than tripled over the past two decades, with the state’s push for tissue culture farming and its agricultural roadmap credited for the surge.
Figures from the state’s agriculture department reveal that banana output rose from 545,000 metric tonnes in 2004–05 to 1.968 million metric tonnes in 2022–23 — a jump of 261%. Over the same period, the area under banana cultivation grew from 27,200 hectares to 42,900 hectares, while per-hectare productivity more than doubled, rising from 20 to 45 metric tonnes.
The state government attributes this dramatic rise to the adoption of tissue culture techniques, which allow farmers to grow disease-free and high-yielding varieties such as G-9, Malbhog and China bananas. These advancements have not only enhanced productivity but also significantly boosted farmers’ incomes.
Bihar’s agricultural roadmap, a long-term policy initiative aimed at modernising farming practices, has been instrumental in supporting this transition. “Tissue culture has opened new avenues for banana growers in Bihar,” an agriculture department official said. “It ensures consistency in yield and quality, making banana cultivation more profitable.”
Under the state’s Fruit Development Scheme, farmers cultivating bananas using tissue culture techniques are eligible for a 50% subsidy. With a unit cost of Rs. 1.25 lakh per hectare, growers can receive up to Rs. 62,500 in financial support. In the financial year 2024–25, 3,624 farmers availed themselves of this subsidy.
Tissue culture farming involves growing new plants from a small group of cells in a lab under controlled conditions. Unlike traditional propagation methods, this technique produces plants that are uniform, disease-free and faster to mature — attributes that have proven vital in scaling banana cultivation across Bihar.
