THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: On Sunday, Pramod Kumar was more of a farmer than a cop. Reason - it was harvest day in his paddy field. The policeman, accompanied by two friends, was seen in a ‘lungi’ and shirt enthusiastically reaping the fruit of his efforts. The job was completed by afternoon. ‘’37 ‘para’ in all,’’ he said with some pride. In an era where arable lands are fast giving way to plush apartment complexes, Pramod Kumar R C, head constable at the Police Headquarters, is setting an example. Next to his house at Kunnathunada, near Aruvikkara, is 17 cents of land, which he has never allowed to go fallow. ‘’This is the third paddy harvest I’ve done myself,’’ he says. He inherited his love for agriculture from his father, whom he used to assist in the field. Pramod sows the seeds during ‘Pathamudayam’ in the month of April, the day said to be apt for starting cultivation. ‘’Paddy cultivation had been a symbol of family status once. Besides, the pride and joy we get out of cultivating paddy is immense,’’ he says. Pramod had a plum yield of 30 ‘para’ from his first harvest, about a year ago. The yield provided rice for some six months at his house. But the second time was not a pleasant experience as many of the saplings directly planted in the field turned rotten and the remaining ones yielded little. It was then that he came to know about the ‘Madagascar’ way of planting and decided to try it. Rather than planting the rice plants directly in the field, in the Madagascar method, the seeds are first sown on a soil-topped tarpaulin sheet. After the saplings grow to a certain size, they are transferred to the field. He sowed the seeds of ‘Uma’ variety of paddy bought from the agricultural sub-centre of the College of Agriculture at Melarannoor. For fertilizers, Pramod preferred cow dung and excreta from ducks to chemical fertilisers. For pest control, the ducks were left free to graze in the field to hunt down pests. Other than paddy, Pramod also cultivates plantain and rears fish in a pond on his 17 cents of land. He also has 24 ducks clucking about around his home. Asked how he balances his pressing duties as a farmer with that of the cop’s, he points to the whole-hearted support of his family. Says Sreelekha Pramod, his wife, a Commerce graduate: ‘’I take care of everything after my husband leaves for work and our daughter Akshya is packed off to school.’’ Pramod has big plans. ‘’I will sow the remaining set of seeds soon so that I can harvest before the festival season next April.’’
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