New Delhi, June 3 -- Samastipur & Muzaffarpur, Bihar: Plants whisper, you need ears to listen. That's what Norman Borlaug, a plant breeder and Nobel Peace laureate who saved billions from starvation, used to tell his students. Borlaug's words ring hard as one steps into the orchards of the Mithila region of Bihar, spread across Samastipur and Muzaffarpur districts. This region is renowned for its rose-floral scented Shahi litchis.

On a sultry summer forenoon, an orchard is still a balmy place to be at. Late May, the fields are abuzz. Contractors and traders supervise workers including underage children, as they scale giant trees, some as tall as 20m, to pluck ripe, crimson-red fruits. These are carried as head loads to another group, mos...