From Surviving Cancer to Sowing Seeds of Sustainability: The Inspiring Journey of Tushar Patel

Tushar Patel, a 43-year-old from Ambaliyara village in Kapadvanj, is the former Fiber network leader of a private enterprise in the Saurashtra and Kutch area who has chosen natural farming after overcoming vocal cord cancer. Tushar Patel has started cultivating watermelons this year on rented property in Mirapur village utilising natural farming.

Patel feels lucky and blessed to have survived the fourth stage of voice cancer. “There are several alterations in my body as a result of the vocal chord surgery. “A hole is placed in the neck to breathe; I don’t even receive any type of odour anymore, and I have to use a machine to talk because my voice box has been removed,” Tushar explains.

Tushar, despite his physical and emotional challenges, embarked on a significant new path.

He is adamant about starting ecological farming. Tushar devotes his entire day, with the aid of his father and brother, to making every effort to enhance the quality of the farm’s growing watermelons.

He was employed by Fiber Network before being diagnosed with cancer. As a result, he found it difficult to adapt to a completely different career. He explored the internet to gain knowledge about the notion of natural farming before embarking on it. While viewing Subhash Palekar’s videos on YouTube, he was also inspired and intrigued by his natural farming practices. Furthermore, Governor Shree Acharya Devvrat’s book “Prakritik Kheti” assisted him in understanding the fundamental ideas of natural farming.

Anybody fascinated by natural farming should go and witness all of the arrangements of new and indigenous organic farming methods that Tushar has created with utmost care. Tushar, for example, has recently begun mulching so that farm-friendly ringworms and other creatures may flourish and boost the richness of the soil.

He grows his watermelons using natural fertilisers made at his farmhouse. On his watermelons, he sprays a fertiliser comprised of desi cow’s milk, desi jaggery, and turmeric. Furthermore, specific kinds of bacteria are utilised to boost soil quality. The bacteria are made from a combination of desi cow dung, cow urine, castor and neem, which boosts soil fertility and adds richness to the fruits produced. To keep the germs safe, a 4000-litre airtight tank has been constructed. For seven days, a liquid combination of bacterial culture, buttermilk, and desi jaggery are mixed to create the bacterium.

Aside from that, liquid fertiliser is made by combining natural waste such as desi cow dung, cow urine, drumstick leaves, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and so forth. and watermelons are grown using a mixture of ten different types of leaves such as datura, arani, custard apple, garlic, and others.

Tushar has installed an aerobic jeevaamrit plant on his property for jeevaamrit use. Every day, the factory produces 400 litres of jeevamrit for agricultural use. Before being utilized for agriculture, well water is cleansed with a sand filter-micro filter system.

Yellow glue sticks have been strategically placed across the field to protect young watermelons from germs that cause degradation. The yellow sticks protect the plants from decaying by attracting bacteria, which attach to them and perish.

It should be noted here that the Governor of Gujarat, Shri Acharya Devvrat, has recently been working relentlessly to promote natural farming. He is emphasising the value of natural farming to farmers from all around the state through various initiatives.

The Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) is indeed training farmers on sustainable agricultural development and natural farming under the supervision of Kheda District Development Officer Mehul Dave. So far, 22,584 farmers in the Kheda district have been taught natural farming, with 11,737 farmers now involved in natural farming using the Subhash Palekar natural farming method.

Tushar did his investigation after his own experience with cancer and determined that the chemical components in our food are to blame for the widespread disorders observed in youngsters. Tushar attributed the growth of his vocal chord cancer to the use of foods containing fertilisers.

Tushar Patel has so pledged to take responsibility in the future to provide people with nutritional meals free of dangerous chemicals. Mr Patel formerly worked as the Fiber network chief, earning two lakh rupees per month. This young, well-educated individual was pulled to support a noble cause of natural farming not for the money, but for the desire to attempt something unique in farming.

Tushar Patel, a brave fighter from Charotar, inspires farmers, cancer survivors, and the youth to strive and live for a worthy purpose, for the sake of farming.