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BONGAIGAON: Khanindra Chandra Roy, a retired teacher from Barshangaon, has become a symbol of rural success after turning his 15-bigha ancestral land into Lower Assam’s only large-scale agarwood (Aquilaria malaccensis) plantation. Once born into a poor farming family, Roy has now earned nearly Rs 70 lakh by cultivating agarwood using scientific methods.
Roy began planting 4,000 agar saplings nearly 30 years ago but was discouraged when the trees failed to get naturally infected. Determined to succeed, he received training from Jorhat Agricultural University and adopted artificial inoculation, a technique that introduces fungus into the tree to produce fragrant resin. This method helped around 2,000 of his trees to develop into high-quality agarwood.
His breakthrough came when he connected with former MP Badruddin Ajmal’s company, a major global trader in agarwood. Through this link, Roy sold around 2,000 trees, earning an estimated Rs 60–70 lakh.
Despite his success, Roy warns farmers about fraudulent middlemen offering unscientific inoculation processes that cause severe losses. He continues to support local cultivators by distributing free saplings and sharing scientific guidance, stressing that patience is key and trees must mature for at least three years.
Agarwood, locally known as sanchi, is one of the world’s most valuable aromatic woods, widely used for attar and perfumes, with demand across the Middle East and Europe. Assam is known for producing some of the finest agarwood, and Hojai now hosts the world’s largest wholesale agarwood market.
Roy’s journey showcases how scientific farming and determination can reshape rural livelihoods and inspire a new generation of farmers in Assam.
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