Agriculture is an important means of livelihood in this Valluvanad village that lies close to the Arabian Sea. Coconut, paddy as main crops and tuber varieties, bananas, vegetables as intercrops were cultivated. Earlier, cashews were mainly cultivated in the coastal areas. But for the last few decades, Ramacham cultivation has developed in these areas with the decline of cashew cultivation.

Years before, Arecanut cultivation was done at Chemmannur and Uppungal areas. In the earlier days, paddy used to be the main crop cultivated here. Older documents state that almost half of the land was covered by paddy fields.

The east side of the panchayat is marked by Kole wetlands.

This land is blessed with many water bodies including canals like Uppungal, Parayangad, Kurukkanchaal, Ayyamma and Conolly, and ponds like Pananthara Colony, Puthenchira, Eliyangaduchira, Govindapuram temple pond, Puncha and so on. These canals help serve the irrigation needs of the village.

Paddy

Paddy is an important crop in the panchayat. It is cultivated in the extensive fields of Uppungal, Kuttaadan, Parur, Manchira, Bhattathiri, Cherayi, Paarangi and Eechi. The most commonly cultivated varieties are the hybrid ones called Uma and Jyothi. Kanhangad Jayan, a farmer in the tenth ward, grows organic varieties like Thavalakannan, Rakthashaari, Krishnakamadu, Bug and so on.

Poultry farming

One of the unique features of Punnayoorkkulam is its rural markets. The Uppungal market opens on Fridays. All household items of everyday use, besides Kudumbashree products, are on sale here. Special fairs are organized during celebratory occasions like Onam, Christmas, Vishu and Muslim festivals. The Althara market functions on every alternate Monday. Sale of chickens is a major event during these days. Fridays and Saturdays are set apart for sale of ornamental plants.

Ramacham / Vetiver

Ramacham or Vetiver is cultivated in the coastal fringes of the panchayat. That is because the soil of that area is especially suitable for it. Vetiver is grown largely for the sake of its roots that go deep into the soil close to three metres in the soil. A Vetiver field is very beautiful to look at. There are many residents who make value-added products from vetiver, and sell them.

Ramacham is largely cultivated at Periyambalam, Andathode, Pappali areas in Punnayoorkkulam panchayat and at Mannalamkunnu, Akalad areas in Punnayur panchayat. The harvest season extends to almost a month. The roots are removed from the extracted ramacham plants and made into a bundle to be sent for export. Soon after the harvest, grasses for the next season are planted.

Ramacham used to be a traditional agricultural crop which was cultivated in the Panchayat on an industrial basis and exported as a raw material to other states. Comprising medicinal qualities these plants are used extensively in making sleeping mats, fans, oils, perfumes etc. These roots are also added in drinking water which is cooling and refreshing.

Other items

The other crops cultivated here are banana, coconut, arecanut, spices like black pepper and nutmeg, tubers like tapioca and Chinese potato and so on. Alongside all these, cattle rearing and fish farming are also actively pursued in this area. There are many dairy farmers, ranging from those who raise one or two cows to others who have up to 20 in farms. Besides hybrid varieties, indigenous breeds like Vechur, Vilwadri, Kasaragodan, Kapila and others are also raised here.