Harvest of sugarcane, meant for use during Pongal festival celebration, cultivated in a small area in villages around Tiruchi, is in full swing.
Farmers in Ponnurangam, Thiruvalarcholai and other villages started harvesting the sugarcane on Sunday.
Ramu, a farmer of Ponnurangam, said he had cultivated the sugarcane on an acre of land. It fetches Rs. 15 this year based on its size while it was just Rs. 10 or Rs. 12 last year. “A bundle of 10 canes is sold for Rs. 150 to Rs. 180 this year,” he said adding that he was sending the bundles to Coimbatore in a lorry for sale.
According to S. Mathiyalagan, Joint Director of Agriculture (in charge), Tiruchi district, this variety of sugarcane is cultivated in a very small area. While the total area of cultivation of all types of sugarcanes is 1,650 hectares, cultivation of this variety of sugarcane, meant for Pongal festival, stands at just two per cent, he said. Besides, there was a drop in sugarcane cultivation since many people had shifted to cultivation of banana, he added.
