Kasaragod district falls into three natural divisions, the low land bordering the sea, the midland consisting of the undulating country and forest clad highland on the extreme east. The low land is almost level in topography and has thick groves of coconut and paddy fields. The highland lies mainly on the slope of the Western Ghats with its upper reaches occupied by forests and lower sides by plantation crops like Rubber. In between the above two lay the midland which occupies the larger area of the zone. The economy of the district continues to be mainly dependent on agriculture. Some of the major crops are Paddy, Coconut, Areca Nut, Cashew, Pepper, Banana, and Rubber. Central Plantation Corporation, Kasaragod and KVK plays a vital role in the development of Coconuts and other plants.
Kasaragod has five mini industrial estates, of which one is for SC and ST entrepreneurs. Kerala Small Industries Development Corporation (SIDCO) operates two mini industrial estates (MIE) and Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (KINFRA) operates a mega industrial park at Seethangoli having 24.2811 hectares. Stats show that there are 4359 registered industrial units in Kasaragod district providing employment to 21,429 people. The total investment in the sector is estimated to be around Rs. 632.26 crore. The MSME units in Kasaragod mostly falls under the following industry categories - Agro and food-based; Readymade garments; Wood/Wooden furniture; Paper/Paper products; Rubber, plastic and petro-based; Metal-based; and general engineering.
