After parting ways with agriculture in high school, Carlington McCook, now a member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, found his way back to his first love (farming) in 2016.

“My mother was a farmer and my father is one; I have been exposed to farming all my life. During high school I decided to part ways with agriculture. I dropped it as a subject and explored something else.

“However, in 2016 I decided that I needed to find a second source of income, and I thought what better area to enter than one that I have basically grown up in, and have always had a passion for,” McCook said.

The 37-year-old policeman and farmer is a father of four, and he currently has four acres of land in Bughole, Clarendon, where he plants lettuce, pak choi, carrots, cabbage, sweet peppers and sweet potatoes.

While attending to the duties of the country, McCook leaves his employees with the task of caring for the farm.

“I employ persons from my community to help on the farm because I have to report to my job five days out of a week, and I don’t know if that contributes to the fact that I have never experienced theft,” he said.

“My community is a good one, it’s good,” he said.

“I focus on the farm on my days off from my main job and though it is not easy, it is fulfilling,” he said.

He added: “I use the land I have to the best of my abilities but I would really like to expand. However, I simply do not have the land to do so.”

McCook does not have a stable market that he provides his crops to but he is hoping that this reality will change in the near future.

“Right now, I don’t have a stable market, but I am supposed to be supplying a company and I am looking forward to that, as this would really be a breakthrough for me,” he said.

“I soley depend on higglers to purchase the produce at this point in time, but if there is a case where the demand for the crops is high in the hotels, persons will come and purchase some of the produce,” he said.

He also shared that plants are just like humans and they need the right amount of care to perform at their best.

“Just as how people have to take vitamins and drink sufficient water for proper nourishment, it is the same with crops,” he said.

“For example, lettuce has to be given enough water or else it will become bitter, and no-one wants to have bitter lettuce in their salads. And then there is the sweet pepper that has to be given calcium in order for you to get the best from it,” he said.

McCook also shared that he tries to impart knowledge about farming whenever an opportunity arises.

“From time to time, agriculture students from several schools like Edwin Allen HIgh School will come and view the farm and ask questions in order to expand their knowledge, and I enjoy being able to assist in that regard,” McCook said.