Bhaskar Save
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Bhaskar Hiraji Save (27 January 1922 – 24 October 2015), known in India as the "Gandhi of natural farming", was an educator, entrepreneur, farmer, and activist.
Biography
Bhaskar Save was born in the coastal village of
As a child, Bhaskar Save learned the value of
Often, he accompanied his father on
His formal education included "Standard 7" of the old system (equivalent to "class 10" today), followed by two years of work towards the Primary Training Certificate. This qualified him to teach in a secondary school in a neighboring village, which he did for 10 years.[1]
On 2 February 1951, Bhaskar Save married Malatibai, who has since been his companion. The same year, the Save family began digging their
The harvest he reaped attracted attention from a director of the Gujarat State Fertilizer Corporation who offered Save an agency contract for marketing their chemical fertilizer. His job included instructing farmers in its use, for which he was promised a commission of Rs 5 on every bag of the chemicals he sold. Soon, Save was recognized as a "model farmer" for his use of the new technology. Several agricultural scientists from Pune and elsewhere drew on his experience for conducting their field trials.
By 1954–55, Save had already earned enough money to buy one hectare of land suitable for growing rice to begin his own family farm. This was the first of the plots purchased on which today stands the Save family's Kalpavruksha farm, now a 6 hectare orchard, in Umbergaon region, a coastal zone of South Gujarat.[2]
By 1956, Save reverted to his father's traditional farming methods. However, inspired by both the writings of
Though his yield declined the first year, so did his expenses and gradually he converted more acreage, which he reserved entirely for organic experimentation. Organic methods of
In 1957, Bhaskar Save built a small home on his new, now present, farm, which had grown to two hectares and moved there with his family. Raising an orchard was now his major preoccupation, and he wanted to spend more time working and observing. By 1960, he had eliminated the use of chemicals on his farm.
Save's Philosophy of Natural Farming
Bhaskar Save developed his system of natural farming after being induced to use chemical fertilizers, which after three years he realized was not returning value to him or his land. He later commented that: "By ruining the natural fertility of the soil, we actually create artificial 'needs' for more and more external inputs and unnecessary inputs for ourselves, while the results are inferior and more expensive in every way."[3]
The concept and practice of
- Short-life span crops, which refer to annual vegetables, grains, herbs, annual flowers.
- Medium-life span edible crops, which include flowers, grains, grasses and fruit trees.
- Long-life span crops, which are perennial vegetables, such as rhubarb, horseradish, asparagus; perennial herbs, some chikoo, and coconut), and some grasses, like alfalfa.
Save's idea for platforms resulted from a need to grow trees on low-lying paddy fields. To elevate the land, he constructed raised earthen mounds or
Initially, the saplings of
In 2006, Bhaskar Save, published an "
Recognition
Beyond the many awards that Bhaskar Save has received, his reworking of an ancient trench and platform system for irrigated fruit trees, like banana, chikoo and coconut has been recognized by the United Nations (2001) and others as one of the most important orchard production systems in the world. Other achievements include:
- 1993 : Person of the year Award from Limca Book of Records − Mumbai
- 1993 : Received a place in the Limca Book of World Records for generating the highest production and profit in the world with Mr. Save's Organic Farming System.
- 1993 : Nisarg Bhushan award from Shri Mohan Dhariya (M.P.), President of National Foundation of Organic Farming at Sangli – Maharashtra.
- 1994 : New System of Organic Farming award from Gujarat State Sahakari Bank Ltd.
- 1995 : New System of Organic Farming award for Sugarcane production from Dena Bank Ltd. Kolhapur − Maharashtra.
- 1996 : Environment Protection Award from Bhartiy Sahitya Sevak Sangh – Mumbai.
- 1997 : The Second Gandhi of India received title from The world-famous farmer Mr. Masanobu Fukuoka of Japan.
- 1998 : Received "Mr. Fukuoka of India" title from Jatan Sarvodaya Organization of Baroda – Gujarat.
- 1999 : Krushi–Vibhuti award from Rotary Club of Dahanu – Maharashtra.
- 2000 : Krishna Kant- 10th Vice President of India. For Organic Farming Science and Technology and for Rural Development Work.
- 2001 : Gokul Award from Kolhapur Jill Sahakari Milk Protection Sangh − Maharashtra.
- 2002 : Certificate from Krushi & Sahakari Department of Gujarat Government for Low input Organic Farming Technology.
- 2003 : Honored with the Commual Harmony Certificate for Adoption, Propagation and Publicity for the book, Organic Farming System, by Maharashtra Government.
- 2004 : Organic Farming God–Father Award from Maharashtra Government – Krushi Department.
- 2005 : On the 56th year of India's Independence, Governor Shri Nawal Kishore Sharma of Gujarat honored Shri Bhaskar Save for Free Service to the Country.
- 2006 : National Award from Shri Sharad Pawar − Minister of Agriculture, for Best Coconut Farmer.
- 2007 : Organic Farming Scientist award from Gokhale Education Society.
- 2008 : Anubandhi Award from Punyshlok Sadaguru Shiv − Paravati Foundation Pune – Maharashtra.
- 2008 : State Krushi Award from Krushi Vighnan Centre – Ahmednagar.
- 2008 : Certificate for Organic Farming Development from The Gujarat Association for Agricultural Sciences.
- 2009 : Man of the Earth Award from Janirs International Residential & Junior College – Thane (Mumbai)
- 2009 : Gram Shilpi Award from Shri Shankaracharya at Vishwa Mangal Gou Gram Yatra − Gujarat.
- 2010 : Receiving ONE WORLD Lifetime Achievement Award from International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) – Germany
See also
- Shripad Dabholkar
- Subhash Palekar
- Natural Farming
- Masanobu Fukuoka
References
- ^ From Chapter 4 of The Vision of Natural Farming by Bharat Mansata.
- ^ Kalpavruksha Farm Archived June 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Bhaskar Save's farming methods and philosophy are detailed in the book, The Vision of Natural Farming by Bharat Mansata. Mumbai: Earthcare Books, 2010.
- ^ Natural Farming with Masanobu Fukuoka A full-length documentary following the legendary Masanobu Fukuoka on a visit to India.
- UNDP, TWN & Zed Books.
- user-generated source]