Dnyaneshwar Bodke
About
Founder of the national award-winning farming initiative - ‘Abhinav Farmers Club’, Dnyaneshwar Bodke is a horticulturist from Pune who educates & supports farmers in adopting sustainable means of farming and marketing their products without the presence of middlemen.
Abhinav Farmers Club introduced the concept of ‘Polyhouse’ and helped farmers stabilise their income by growing various crops.
This initiative was started in 2004 when he saw several farmers mortgaging their farms against loans to manage their households. He started persuading them to not sell away their land & make the most of it by specialising in floriculture & exotic vegetables. This led to the revolution of traditional agriculture through direct marketing by doing away with middlemen.
Awards and Accomplishments
Awards and Accomplishments
Dynaeshwar’s vision was to have at least one ‘Abhinav Farmers Club’ in every district of India to supply organic vegetables, fruits & grains to the consumers at an affordable price & also to encourage marginal farmers to take up advanced farming leaving behind the age-old farming practices.
Bodke made it possible by starting the ‘Abhinav Farmers Club’ to help farmers specialise in exotic vegetables and floriculture. This farming initiative received national awards and helped thousands of farmers across India.
What started out as a group of 11 people has grown to 1,53,000 farmers spread over eight states in the country over the last fourteen years.
Why Dnyaneshwar Bodke ?
From being on the brink of poverty to making a fortune for himself, he now provides fresh, organic produce to suppliers across the country & sells vegetables, milk, fruits & groceries to 7,500 vendors in Pune alone.
He is a popular TEDx speaker who believes in and promotes an ‘organic mixed with technology’ approach to farming.
