GalleryBetel growers in Sukhpara, Abhaynagar, Jashore, pick fresh leaves every month but Poush and earn about Tk 1.5 lakh a bigha after costs, photographed by Prothom Alo's Saddam Hossain.
Sandwip, once an exporter of betel leaf, now has to bring it in, as rising costs and lack of support push growers away from a crop officials say has great potential.
More farmers in Joypurhat are growing betel leaf because it is more profitable than paddy, potato and other crops, though the district has no wholesale betel market.
