Dyaneshwar bodke - Pune farmer's Success Story

Dyaneshwar bodke comes from Maan Village, near Hinjewadi Pune. Dnyaneshwar was doing traditional farming since 1999. But income generated from traditional farming was not enough to live decent life.

So he decided to turn to modern farming using shednet/polyhouse/greenhouse. In 1 acre land, he creates 4 plots of 10 guntha (1 guntha = 1000sqft = quarter of acre) each. In 1 guntha, he builds the shed net which allows him to grow veggies throughout year without worrying about rain, sun, bad weather, hailstorm etc He grows vegetables of more than 30 types like Methi, Dodka, Bhopla etc. He harvests the veggies twice in a week and sells to around 20 customers. He earns around RS. 40000 per month by selling veggies. Ladies from Mahila Bachat gat are helping for harvesting and delivery of veggies.

Apart from farming, he also has fruit trees and does cow farming.

Some important tips that Dnyaneshwar gives are

• Farmers should grow mixed crops. So even if some crops do not get good rates in market, other veggies may get good prices.
• Organic farming is in demand as people do not want to eat veggies grown using chemical fertilizers.
• Take 3 different vegetables on same bed in a year. Maximum yield is possible with the help of vertical farming.
• Proper seed selection is also very important. e.g. IshVed 101 tomato variety can get more harvest.
• Use drip irrigation to save water. Slurry (for increasing soil carbon and generate compost worms) can be supplied via drip irrigation to provide nutrients to plants.
• Spray Neem and Go Mutra (Cow Urine) to prevent diseases.
• Make supplementary business like cow farming and tiffin services. Cows can supply milk and also cow dung can be used as fertilizer and biogas can also be produced.

Dnyaneshwar has 3 cows out of which 2 cows are giving 20 litre (10 lit each) milk everyday. So he is earning Rs. 2000 (Rs.100 x 20 lit) everyday. He grows 100kg veggies in a week. So even if you consider Rs. 50 / kg rate, you can make Rs. 5000 per week. Inspired by his success story, many farmers have come together and joined club called as Abhinav Farmers club.

Today his Abhinav Farmers club is connected with almost 3 lakh farmers. Dnyaneshwar thinks that produce should be sold to end customers directly. That way you can earn big profits as there is no middleman commission involved there. He also advises young farmers to stay away from the addiction to bad habits.