The Mushroom Man | Akash Bade
Akash Bade “The Mushroom Man”
What will you become in the future?’ When asked by the teacher at school, Akash Bade’s only answer would be, ‘Farmer’. After hearing Akash’s answer, the teacher would frown and say, ‘I will become a farmer! Do you have a dream like this?” His classmates used to make fun of him. Because, the answer of other classmates was – doctor, pilot, nurse, engineer. In front of them, the dreams of the sky seemed to fade. However, now those same teachers and classmates are shocked to see Akash’s agricultural work. 38-year-old Akash of Bhaktapur Madhyapur Thimi-7, Nagadesh, is doing a new test in the agricultural sector. He became “Mushroom Man” by awakening the mushroom species that are mostly unheard of in Nepal.
His Story
“When I was little, I used to go to the fields with my mother carrying a stick, later it became work,” says Akash. He used to work in the fields all morning, school in the afternoon. He used to go back and sell vegetables. After the needs of the house were fulfilled by agriculture, he started to see the future in it.
“Agriculture was considered a profession for uneducated people. Everyone kept looking at me wondering why I had to read that instead of becoming a farmer”, Akash remembers. He was not deterred by the words of others. After passing his SLC in 2056, he wanted to study agriculture. At that time there were not many educational institutions teaching agriculture like now, so I had to go to Chitwan, Rampur College.
His parents told him not to go far from home. He joined the nearby Khwopa College to study management. He says, “At that time, the Maoist movement was very fierce.” That’s why my mother didn’t let me go there. On the other hand, if I had known a college to study agriculture, I would have studied it.”
Mushroom Seed Nepal & Research Center
In 2071, three people together with him opened a seed production laboratory in Madhyapur Thimi, Chardobato – Mushroom Seed Nepal and Research Center Pvt. Ltd. At first they made leafy mushroom seeds. Friends left after two years. Since then, he has been handling the work alone. And I started researching on my own and started making seeds.
One day during his research, he met a scientist from NAST. He said let’s investigate together. According to the agreement with Nast in July 2077, they are currently researching red mushroom cultivation and production increase. Aakash informed that the research report is about to be published in an international journal.
Aakash started the business with a loan of five lakhs and now more than one crore has been invested. 44 tunnels are covered with mushrooms. He has sole investment in 18 and the remaining 26 are partnerships with two people. 23 people work on his farm.
Source: https://www.setopati.com/kinmel/agriculture/242026
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