Economy
Agriculture is the main occupation. The most prominent crop is rice. Palakkad is known as the Rice Bowl of Kerala. But in recent times, rice cultivation has become unremunerative due to high wages and low prices. Hence, farmers have turned to other crops and the area under rice cultivation has decreased drastically. In the areas bordering Tamil Nadu, crops such as sugar cane, groundnut, tomato, jasmine etc. are cultivated. Rubber is the main crop in the hilly regions. Vegetables like pumpkin, ash gourd, bitter gourd, brinjal, etc. are now cultivated extensively. Tamarind, Neem, Mango and Palm trees are seen in abundance in Palakkad, as in Tamil Nadu. The district is a major centre of export for mangoes and tamarind. Jaggery, which is unrefined sugar, is made from sugarcane in Chittur Taluk.
The only big city in the district is the district head quarters, Palakkad.The retail giant Panthaloons BIGBAZAR opened their first showroom of Kerala in this city.Joby's mall,the biggest mall of the city is one of the biggest of the state itself. All major jeweleries of the state has at least one showroom in the town. Biggest brands such as The Raymond, Woodlands, Reebok, Peter England, Scullers, Indigo nation, John Miller, Basics life, Derby, Cotton County, Koutons, Bombay Dyeing, has their own exclusive showrooms in the city.
In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Palakkad one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the two districts in Kerala currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).
Read more about this topic: Palakkad District
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