Bihar farmer grows world’s costliest vegetable that costs Rs 1 lakh/kg

PATNA: A 38-year-old Amresh Singh of Bihar cultivates the world's costliest vegetable that costs Rs 1 lakh per kg.

Singh of Karamdih village in Bihar's Aurangabad district's Navinagar block is one of the country's early birds to catch up with hop-shoot cultivation.

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Pictures of Singh in his farm have been shared by IAS officer Supriya Sahu on Twitter. "One kilogram of this vegetable costs about Rs 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," she tweeted.

The 'hop shoots' quickly became a social media sensation, with many people tweeting about the green conical vegetable.

According to Amresh, while the hop-cone is used to make beer, the stem is used for medicinal purposes, such as production of antibiotics.

A farmer who grows this vegetable can earn up to Rs 50-60 lakh per katha of land, he added.

The hop shoot, also known as humulus lupulus, is a perennial plant. Hop shoots, which are native to North America and Europe, were once thought to be weeds before their properties were discovered.

Hop shoots have antibacterial effects and are used for bittering, flavouring and as a stability agent in beer.

The hop shoots are completely back-breaking to harvest, which explains why they are so expensive. The weed-like tendrils grow in a haphazard manner and one must hunch, hunt around and they are so small that hundreds are needed to fill a carrier bag.

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