Khulna farmers find fortune in chui jhal cultivation

FE Team | Published: June 24, 2025 00:41:10

KHULNA, June 23 (BSS): Khulna is widely known for the Sundarbans and its mouthwatering shrimp. But in recent years, the region's traditional spice, chui jhal (piper chaba), has been gaining remarkable popularity, bringing new opportunities for locals.
Chui jhal, one of the most desirable food ingredients in the southwestern region, is winning the hearts of people beyond the division and abroad, attracting more farmers, including the educated, into cultivating it.
According to agronomists, the botanical name of chui jhal is piper chaba. Chui trees look like betel leaf vines. Its roots and stems are cut into pieces and used in cooking. Chui jhal, which tastes salty, is widely known as a spice in the southwestern districts, namely Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat, Jashore, and Narail.
Nabadwip Mallik, a resident of Baratia village under Atlia union in Dumuria upazila, has become self-reliant through the cultivation of chui jhal.
Nabadwip has been running Chui Nursery since 2016. So far, he has sold about 70,000 saplings, each bringing Tk 40 on average. He has arround 1,00,000 saplings in his nursery at present.
People from different parts of the country buy saplings from Nabadwip's nursery, and he supplies them through courier service providers.
"I have supplied saplings to people from all 64 districts in the country. Several farmers have set up nurseries. They are all succeeding," Nabadwip said.
After completing his graduation, Nabadwip tried his luck in various offices in search of a job but failed to catch the proverbial 'golden deer' of employment.
Eventually, out of frustration, he joined a multi-level marketing (MLM) company. Though the business initially went well, it abruptly shut down, leading him back to unemployment.
In such a difficult situation, about 5 to 6 years ago, he started cultivating chui jhal based on advice from a local agriculture officer.
The first couple of years were challenging, but now he faces no issues. Every month, he sells chui jhal saplings worth Tk 0.1 to 0.15 million and mature chui jhal worth Tk 0.15 to 0.2 million in local and national markets. He earns Tk 2.5 to Tk 3 million every year just by selling chui and its seedlings.
Alongside, he has established an aesthetically pleasing nursery named NPN Agro Enterprise near the Khulna-Satkhira highway in his village.
He supplies chui jhal saplings and the spice itself to different parts of the country through courier services. Each sapling is priced between Tk 40 to Tk 50, while chui jhal sells at Tk 1,000 to 1,200 per kilogram. His products are in high demand in local markets as well.
Nabadwip employs two men and two women at his agro farm, paying them monthly wages totalling Tk 25,000 to Tk 30,000.
Talking to the news agency, reflecting on his journey, Nabadwip said, "After completing my Honours and Masters, I spent years chasing jobs. But now, by doing something productive, I've freed myself from unemployment and built myself up as an entrepreneur.
"Instead of doing a job, I'm now creating jobs for others. This is how we can transform our country into a new Bangladesh after the July uprising," he said.
Another farmer, Atiar Rahman of Mechoghona village, said one can earn from chui farming a year after planting, and it is possible to generate up to Tk 0.4 million annually in three to four years if the item is grown on only two to three decimals of land.
Like Nabadwip and Atiar, hundreds of farmers, including educated students, are farming chui jhal in Dumuria and elsewhere in the Khulna agriculture zone.
Small and big chui jhal nurseries have spawned in many villages of Khulna. Farmers from other districts are also showing keenness in cultivating it and are taking saplings from the farmers based in Khulna.
Dumuria Upazila Agriculture Officer Md Insad Ibn Amin remarked that the stem or creeper of the chui jhal plant is used as a spice. The Department of Agricultural Extension is actively promoting its cultivation in Dumuria.
In the Khulna region, chui jhal is used in cooking meat, enhancing flavor without harming health. It improves the taste of curries and carries medicinal properties in its roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits. Chui jhal is highly popular in the southwestern districts of Khulna, Jashore, Satkhira, Bagerhat, and Narail.
It is being cultivated on 130 hectares of land in Khulna, Bagerhat, Satkhira, and Narail, which collectively produce 374 tonnes of the item annually.