Ahead of Pongal, harvest of palm sprouts in full swing in Ramanathapuram

Farmers in Regunathapuram prepare for Pongal by harvesting palm sprouts, facing challenges due to unfavorable weather conditions.

With Pongal fast approaching, farmers of Regunathapuram in Ramanathapuram district are busy digging out palm sprouts (panankilangu) from their fields. 

January for palm sprouts farmers comes as a busy season as palm sprouts is one of the likeable eateries for the Pongal festival. However, this year, due to unfavourable climatic conditions and less rainfall, water needed for the shooters could not be fulfilled, said farmers.  

V. Kanagammal, a small-scale farmer from Regunathapuram, said as it was a custom for farmers to perform puja with paddy grains, vegetables, turmeric bunch, along with palm sprouts, the harvested palm sprouts would be sent to various places in the southern districts. 

Though she sowed palm seeds in an area less than an acre, she harvested more than 3,000 sprouts last year, while it has reduced to 2,000 this year.  “A bunch of 100 palm sprouts is sold for ₹200 to ₹300 to the traders. While this is the normal price for a bundle, the downfall in produce has lowered their income this season.”

As this involved only short-term farming, the palm seeds would be planted in the Tamil month of Aavani (October) and harvested around the time of Pongal festival (mid-January). Due to insufficient rainfall, available water from wells was used to fulfil the water need., she added.

A palm sprout trader, N. Dharmaraj from Regunathapuram, said they had so far transported 900 bags (1,000 tubers per bag) of tubers to districts such as Madurai, Coimbatore, Tiruchi and Thoothukudi, among others. “A bag with 1,000 tubers is bought for ₹2,050 from the farmers and is sold for ₹3,000 to shops.”