STRENGTHENING THE LONG PEPPER (PIPALI) VALUE CHAIN FOR INCLUSIVE LIVELIHOODS AND INCOME ENHANCEMENT OF RURAL HOUSEHOLDS IN KORAPUT, ODISHA

Abstract

Piper longum commonly known as Indian long pepper or Pipali is an aromatic climber plant with important medicinal properties. This is also a Climate resilient crop. Due to its highly regenerative nature, it is quite easy to grow in areas with warm climate and moderate to high rainfall. In Koraput district of Odisha, certain communities have been cultivating Pipali for almost last 10-15 years. However, due to lack of a larger market, price information and technical know-how, they are being exploited by the local traders and devoid of genuine prices for their produces. This paper focuses on the farmers of a village named Chiliba in Ballel GP of Lamtaput block. It attempts to identify the various problems faced by the Pipali farmers and how these issues can be tackled by establishing a pro- poor value chain for the product. The communities in Lamtaput district are planned to be mobilized into community institutions and brought under the DAY- NRLM fold. Under the Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP), a project has been launched to provide support to the Pipali farmers of Lamtaput and involve the tribal youth as Community Resource Persons (CRPs) who shall be trained on agricultural and marketing techniques to provide handholding support to the Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs).