Farmers in Kurigram are earning extra income from chuijhal. Planting this parasitic climber on mango and betel nut trees in their yards and on unused land, they earn Tk 30,000-40,000 a year. Because it can be grown with little care and no fertiliser or pesticide, farmers' interest is rising day by day.

Md Shahidul Islam Bachchu Mia of Chakirkuti village said: "I have planted chuijhal in the mango and betel nut garden on my two bighas. I started selling three years after planting. This plant needs no fertiliser or care. The price is good. I sell chuijhal at Tk 4,000 a maund. Depending on age, I sell Tk 5,000 to Tk 12,000 worth from one plant. With chuijhal sales alongside betel nut and mango, the household is doing quite well."

Another farmer, Md Makbul Hossain, said: "Chuijhal is basically a spice plant. I sell it in the market at Tk 100 a kg. I have heard it is used in cooking meat and as medicine. I have about 90 plants in my betel nut garden and have been selling for the past two years. The income is good. I will increase the number of plants in future."

Farmer Saidul Islam said: "Chakirkuti village is now known as the chuijhal village. It is grown at every farmer's home in this village. If there were local market demand, we could profit even more."

Md Mostafizar Rahman, sub-assistant agriculture officer of Nageshwari upazila, said: "Chuijhal is grown at every house in Chakirkuti village of Newashi union. It is a spice with medicinal qualities, and demand is higher in the south of the country. The plant has no cost and gives good profit, so every farmer in the village is doing well. The agriculture office is giving farmers all kinds of help."

Botanist Professor Mirza Nasir Uddin, principal of Kurigram Government College, said: "There is demand for chuijhal as a cooking spice. The plant is also useful as a medicinal plant for relieving rheumatic pain."

Abdullah Al Mamun, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Kurigram, said: "Farmers' interest in chuijhal cultivation has grown in Kurigram. With no extra costs, they can earn well by selling it. It is grown on 14 hectares in Nageshwari, Phulbari, Rajarhat and Bhurungamari upazilas of the district, and scattered in other upazilas."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.