Pipramol Ffarming Spreading Ffast in Aagency Aar

V MADUGULA, VISAKHAPATNAM (Dist): Pipramol, the root of a plant having medicinal value, has proved a lucrative source of income for the tribals in agency areas of Visakhapatnam district. 
w omen workers engaged in cutting pipramol at the Vv Mmadugula village in Vvisakhapatnam district. | Express Photo
w omen workers engaged in cutting pipramol at the Vv Mmadugula village in Vvisakhapatnam district. | Express Photo
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V MADUGULA, VISAKHAPATNAM (Dist): Pipramol, the root of a plant having medicinal value, has proved a lucrative source of income for the tribals in agency areas of Visakhapatnam district.  With its increasing demand in Andhra Pradesh and outside, more and more tribals are taking up its cultivation.  Unlike other forest produce, pipramol, derived from pippalimolam in Sanskrit, is cultivated in the foothills.

Pipramol is widely used in preparation of a number of Aurvedic medicines which are prescribed for lactation. It is also considered a blood purifier. At present, pipramol is cultivated in 200 acres of agency areas of Paderu and Pedabayalu mandals in Visakhapatnam district. It is also produced in Koraput district of Odisha.  While the number one quality of pipramol costs `250 to `300 per kg, the residue of the root after processing known as Nalaka is available at `150. It is exported to Delhi, Ahmedabad, Kanpur, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai.

A trader of V Madugula, K Venkata Rao told Express that in the absence of marketing facilities, pipramol is sold at shandies in the agency areas. About 200 people are engaged in cutting and grading pipramol which is packed in 10 kg bags. Basically a rain-fed crop, it is cultivated between May and October. After processing, it is sold from December to April, he said. The stock purchased by us is stored in a cool place for transportation. Since there is no factory for processing pipramol, it is done manually.

“Every year, we export about 80 lorries of pipramol. V Madugula is the only place in the State exporting pipramol to other states,” said Venkata Rao.

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