After retiring as bank manager last year, Palakkad Koottanad native Ramachandran did not think of wasting his time for relaxing. Instead, he chose the path of agriculture. Ramachandran retired as manager of Canara Bank branch in Thrithala in 2019.
Following retirement, Ramachandran planted okra, chilli, long beans, arrowroot, turmeric, brinjal, snake gourd, yam, taro, bottle gourd, tapioca and banana in a 1.5 acre barren land near his house. Apart from vegetables, he also cultivated paddy in a 3.5 acre land.
Ramachandran strictly follows organic method of farming. He is planning to expand areca nut plantation near his house. He rears 3 cows at house and use the cattle manure as organic fertilizer. The bio gas for cooking also is produced from the cow shed. Milk and other dairy products are sold in the market.
Ramachandran manages agriculture with the help of Nagalassery panchayat Krishi Bhavan. A polyhouse has been built through Vegetable Development Programme (VDP). He managed to produce over 6-feet-long snake gourds in the polyhouse technique. Wife Sreedevi gives full support to Ramachandran.
The fresh produce are sold at 'Samridhi', an organic vegetables selling centre in Thrithala. He also has started fish farming in a pond in his compound. He said that the only trouble is the high labour charge and the non-availability of workers. On knowing about the prosperous farm, Nagalassery agriculture officer K R Randeep and agriculture assistant Sasi Das visited his farm the other day.
