Piper chaba bringing extra earnings for farmers in north

A creeper resembling betel whose vines are used to make meat dishes spicier is bringing some extra cash for around 10,000 farmers growing traditional crops in Lalmonirhat and Kurigram districts.

Piper chaba, called chui jhal in Bangla, costs little to nothing to grow but its climbing stem requires support. Its extracts are also believed to cure dysentery and aches. Yields can be availed within two years of planting.

Farmers can sell each kilogramme for Tk 450 to Tk 500. High market demand brings traders to farmers' doorsteps to directly collect the vines, which are into about four-or-five-foot long pieces and sold by the maund (around 37 kilogrammes).

The scenario is increasingly encouraging farmers to grow the creeper on a commercial basis.

Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said between 100 tonnes and 120 tonnes were collectively produced from the two districts every year.

"I have been growing chui jhal within my betel nut plantation for around 20 years," said Maniram Chandra Barmon, a farmer of Sindurmati village in Lalmonirhat sadar upazila.

The demand for piper chaba has been growing exponentially each year and many farmers are increasing their production, according to Nabin Chandra Roy, a farmer of Dalgram village in Lalmonirhat's Kaliganj upazila.

"I already earn as much as Tk 70,000 annually from the crop," Roy said, adding that now almost every household in Dalgram union cultivates piper chaba.

Afsar Ali, a farmer of Miabari village in Kurigram's Rajarhat upazila, told The Daily Star that he and his peers have been benefiting from producing chui jhal for the past couple of years.

"I earned Tk 30,000 from selling the spice this year and besides, it's an extra beneficial crop since it costs almost nothing to produce," he said.

Haradhan Chandra Sen, a piper chaba trader based in Barabari Haat in Lalmonirhat sadar upazila, said he has been in the business for about 22 years.

"Among other districts, I sell them as far afield as Chattogram, Barishal, Khulna, Bagerhat and Satkhira, where chui jhal is popular but will not grow easily due to unsuitable, saline soils," he said.

"We purchase each kg of chui jhal at Tk 450 to Tk 500 from farmers and sell it at Tk 600 to Tk 650," Sen added.

Manjurul Haque, deputy director of the DAE office in Kurigram, told The Daily Star that local farmers enjoy a lot of benefits from piper chaba cultivation as it grows well all over the region.

"Besides, piper chaba is rarely affected by disease and it certainly has potential as a crop for this region," Haque said.

Shamim Ashraf, deputy director of the DAE office in Lalmonirhat, said piper chaba grows well if its base was well drained.

"And although our office has not actively promoted the vine, we do offer advice to growers when they request it," he added.