Padma Shri award winner Sanjay Patil’s Jeevamrut behind successful integrated-farming technique
Nirgosh Gaude
Ponda: For the past 30 years, even before ‘natural’ became a buzzword, Sanjay Patil (58) from Savoi Verem in Ponda taluka has been employing eco-friendly farming methods and on Thursday he was honoured with the Padma Shri Award in recognition of his persistent efforts in nurturing 10 acres of barren land into a lush kulaghar through use of natural, integrated farming techniques. He is the first farmer from Goa to be honoured with the Padma Shri.
“I was surprised and shocked to receive a call from the Union Home Ministry late Thursday late, informing me that I had been conferred with the Padma Shri Award,” Patil told The Navhind Times.
“When the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) started the documentation process to submit my nomination for the award, I never expected to win, least of all for natural farming. I have always done farming for the love it,” he said.
ICAR officials first got a glimpse into Patil’s innovative approach to farming a few years ago, during a visit to his farm, and in a statement had said: “Even though Patil has studied up to Class XI, his knowledge and skills are that of a top engineer when it comes to water conservation and natural farming practices, using Jeevamrut produced from the dung of an indigenous cow breed.”
The indigenous cow breed plays central role in Patil’s natural farming technique. Using cow urine and dung, he makes around 5,000 litres of Jeevamrut, a natural manure.
“For me, milk is just a by-product of my cow, as I can generate an income of around Rs 50,000 per month from the Jeevamrut produced from the dung and urine of the one cow I own,” said Patil. Along with generating quality Jeevamrut, he has also developed a unique technique of using the manure. His Jeevamrut plant is designed in a manner that allows him to mix it with the water used for irrigation.
The ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) New Delhi, in 2023, conferred him with the IARI—Innovative Farmer Award 2023—for outstanding contributions to natural farming and his zero-energy micro-irrigation system.
Patil has also been awarded the state government’s Krushi Ratna Award in 2013.
Initially, Patil had taken up a job, but soon focused fully on farming. His journey began in 1986, and the first four to five years went in experimenting and testing various farming methods.
“I learned that, in farming, expenses outweighed returns greatly and that motivated me to look for alternatives. It is then that I came across the natural farming method, which was both viable and effective,” he said.
After finding a way to make farming viable, he had to deal with his second challenge, water scarcity.
“I started digging trenches on the farm and found water in two. Then I dug a well and also implemented rain water harvesting. Today I have more than enough water, not just to drink but also for my entire farming activity,” said Patil who cultivates arecanut, black pepper, bananas, local pineapples, and cashew, among other crops.
Besides being such a progressive farmer, Patil has a simple lifestyle. He lives in a tile-roof mud house that has floors made from Vedic plaster (cow dung and soil).
“Farming is the only profession that is viable and profitable if done in a systematic manner. Recently, many people have given up on farming saying it is not viable. Integrated farming method, with cows at the centre, is the best way to make farming viable. It is the method used by our ancestors,” he said, urging the youth to visit his farm and witness firsthand that farming can be a good source of income.