PATHANAMTHITTA: People of Vallicode on the banks of Achankovil river are on a mission to relive the ‘sweet’ memories by returning to the golden days of sugarcane cultivation and jaggery production. They have now hit the market with their Onam special ‘Vallicode jaggery’.
This festival season, the villagers have already sold more than 5,000 kg of ‘pathiyan jaggery’ (semi solid form), and another 1,000 kg is being readied for sale. The huge demand for Vallicode jaggery is now attracting more traditional farmers and villagers into sugarcane cultivation. “Around 25 years ago, sugarcane fields were a common sight on the banks of Achankovil river in Vallicode — a real visual treat for villagers and visitors.
Sugarcane cultivation was the main source of revenue of the villagers. The demand for Vallicode jaggery used to be very high during that time. However, the fall in prices in the subsequent years caused huge losses to the farmers, forcing them to focus on rubber cultivation,” said Renjith Kumar S, agriculture officer.
This time, more than 15 villagers carried out cultivation in over 15 acres with the financial support of the grama panchayat and Krishi Bhavan. Now, many more villagers are planning to resume sugarcane cultivation considering the high price and huge demand.
Farmers to expand sugarcane cultivation to more areas
“Since 2018, our area has been experiencing floods during monsoon season. This has caused huge losses to those engaged in banana cultivation. However, sugarcane crop can withstand floods and thus, prevent farmers from incurring loss,”said Sooraj S Kurup, a sugarcane farmer.
“Earlier, there were 14 jaggery processing units in our village, and each processing unit was 2km away. It was really a golden time of sugar cane cultivation and jaggery production in our village. The purity and unique sweetness help our jaggery stand apart. Besides, it has an appealing golden brown colour. No harmful chemicals are used to give it an attractive colour,” said Sooraj.
The sugarcane farmers in the village have set up ‘Vallicode Karimbu Ulpadaka Saharakarana Sangham’ for carrying out sugarcane cultivation. With demand for Vallicode jaggery soaring, the villagers are gearing up to carry out sugarcane cultivation in nearly 30 acres this time. Currently, villagers are making jaggery in the processing unit being operated by a farmer. The villagers are planning to set up more processing units with the assistance of Krishi Bhavan and panchayat.