Kochi: Alangadan Sharkara, the legendary brand of jaggery, hit the Kerala market after four decades. The first batch of this locally grown and homemade jaggery entered the market. Alangad’s sugarcane-processing unit produced 1,000 kg, keeping the fixed rate at Rs 180 per kilogram, reported The New Indian Express.
Industries Minister P Rajeev announced a comeback in Alangadan Sharkara and presented a report on the project. “Now, in the 16-acre farm, sugarcane is grown. Plans are on to expand it into 50 acres, he informed. ‘Krishikkoppam Kalamassery’ is the project through which the rejuvenation of agriculture in the village happens by restoring the water bodies, improving irrigation systems, and by producing traditional crops such as Alangad jaggery.
The sugarcane used for the jaggery is being cultivated in Neerikode, Kongorpilly, and Thiruvallur, according to Alangad Panchayat President P M Manaf. The project has received support from various local bodies, including the Ernakulam Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Alangad Cooperative Bank, and Krishi Bhavan.
Minister Rajeev said that historically, even Alangad jaggery was significant for which exports were made to China. It was said to have some medicinal properties and pure sweetness that it was made to grace the royal dynasty. According to him, it is because of the soil quality in the area that it tastes the way it does today.
According to Jayaprakash from Alangad Cooperative Bank, full production from the 16-acre farm will be expected to commence by February or March of 2025. An ICAR-KVK Ernakulam document also points out that earlier, the Periyar basin was highly significant in Kerala for jaggery production. Despite such a long history, the industry suffered in the region due to labour-intensive costs, low profit, and cheaper counterparts that went to silence Alangadan Sharkara.
Efforts to regain their past glory are now being resorted to with the reintroduction of this celebrated jaggery.
