AFC Agriculture Revolution

11/19/21, 6:34 PM Who says farming cannot be financially sustainable?
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Opinion
Who says farming cannot be financially

sustainable?
Shirish Shinde
Published on : 23 Feb, 2019, 11:42 pm
The Bridge Chronicle

Who says farming is not economically viable? In fact, it can be lucrative, if a farmer has
www.thebridgechronicle.com
the proper knowledge and willingness to experiment, says progressive farmer
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Dnyaneshwar Bodke, who has set an example in agriculture practices.
https://www.thebridgechronicle.com/opinion/who-says-farming-cannot-be-financially-sustainable-32109 1/17
Bodke’s farm stands out as a green patch, along with farms of some other farmers,
amidst swanky IT companies at Bodkewadi, Mann near the Rajiv Gandhi IT Park,
Hinjawadi.
News It is a pleasant
Politics Tech sight to see farming
Business co-exist alongside
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Media Pune firms
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when the percentage of the population engaged in agriculture has been steadily
dwindling across the country and farmers are facing distress. A video clip shot on
Bodke has been going viral on social media. He founded the Abhinav Farmers’ Club, in
cooperation with other farmers, which has been successfully selling their produce
directly to customers ranging from exporters, malls and housing societies for over a
decade now.
Bodke has trained over 2.5 lakh farmers from across India on his farm, a majority of
whom are now getting good returns in agriculture.
Bodke has studied up to SSC and did a training course in poly house farming at the
Horticulture Training Centre, Talegaon, Pune, where he later worked.
Sounding optimistic about his profession, he said one doesn’t need much capital for
farming. One can start with as little as Rs 5,000 on a small plot of 10 gunthas by
growing vegetables.
Speaking about his resolve to make farming profitable, he narrated an incident from
his life. “We were unable to make both ends meet with the income my father used to
get a couple of decades ago even after toiling hard in our farm. I told my father that we
would note down each paisa that we spent as farm input and the returns that we get.
So, when my father harvested some baskets of gourds, I calculated the input cost
including packaging, transport, etc., which amounted to around Rs 800. However,
when we sold it in the market, we got only Rs 300. That day, I resolved to market our
produce in such a way that it would give at least a few per cent more returns,” says
Bodke.
Giving details about the turnaround, he said, “Initially, I made good money in
floriculture. However, it required a lot of pesticides and constant monitoring. I gave it
up. An official from the State Agriculture Department one day introduced me to
Yogeshbhai Shah, an owner of a mall, who wanted to sell exotic vegetables. I decided
to enter the sector of organic farming. However, our club, established in 2004, broke
up. We had suffered losses in floriculture. Growing
The Bridge organic exotic vegetables proved
Chronicle
lucrative. We got Rs 2.5 lakh returns from 10 gunthas of farms. The media
immediately spread this news. We alsoINSTALL
revealedAPP
the method and route to this success.
Other farmers woke up and also started growing exotic vegetables.”
This prompted him to change his marketing strategy. He targeted housing societies as
a market for local varieties of organic vegetables. “The economics was in our favour as
consumers were buying vegetables at an average rate of Rs 2 per 250 gm while we
were selling 10 kg at Rs 2 at the market. Moreover, these consumers had to travel a
few kilometres and spent at least Rs 10-15 on transport to buy vegetables worth Rs 2.
They happily paid Rs 2.50 (50 paise more) per 250 gm, if we delivered vegetables at
their doorstep,” said the game-changer.
“We had tasted success following profitable floriculture plantation, which compelled
us to experiment with the marketing plan. Failures didn’t deter us from experimenting
and we kept on succeeding. This invited media attention and our experiments were
made public, which helped us widen our network. Consumers spread the word
through mouth-to-mouth publicity,” he revealed.
“We are transporting our produce, particularly exotic vegetables to hotels and malls in
Delhi, Kolkata, Panaji and other cities. Moreover, we sell Gir cow’s milk also. Cowdung
is an ideal component of manure essential for organic farming. Hence, a Gir cow per
acre should be the ratio. Initially, we got Rs 2,200 per day from milk and vegetables.
This agriculture income model became popular and more and more farmers started
joining us. However, we faced labour issues as IT firms were paying well. We decided
to rope in women’s self-help groups. Today, around 1,300 women work for packaging
and grading of vegetables for our 300 farmer members. A woman earns Rs 300 if she
works for three hours and Rs 1,000 for nine hours,” said Bodke.
Emphasising the need to replicate this model in drought-hit Marathwada and

Vidarbha, he says, “An acre of farm needs only 10,000 litres of water. One earns Rs
2,200 per day using this much water. A 10,000-litre water tanker costs Rs 600, which
is affordable during summer months. A farmer still earns Rs 1,600 per day.”
Narrating stories of countless small farmers, whom he has imparted skills to turn
around the tide, Bodke said, “Our club recently set up 600 polytunnels in Uttarakhand.
Some farmers had as small as 150-200 sq ft landholding. We consolidated them as a
common unit. The State government gave them around 85 pc subsidy. Their exotic
veggies are supplied to the tourist places in Nainital. They have become popular as the
Abhinav Club vegetables. Tribal women from these
The Bridge areas, who could not even earn Rs
Chronicle
50 daily, are getting Rs 200 per daywww.thebridgechronicle.com
now. We have trained two agriculture graduates
from this region. Another success story is that of Mayur Agarwal, a Symbiosis
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management student from Uttar Pradesh. He came to us one day and wanted to learn
more about our work. He volunteered to distribute our produce around the city in a
p y
tempo. Today, he earns around Rs 5 crore from farming. Dnyaneshwar Shendre from
Jalna, Marathwada, read my story in ‘Agrowon’. One day I was invited to speak in a
programme in Jalna, where he came to hear me. We trained him. He supplies exotic
vegetables to all five-star hotels in Aurangabad. We have trained around 13,000
farmers from Marathwada and Vidarbha, who are successfully running their farms.”
GIFTING DRIP SETS
Dnyaneshwar Bodke’s daughter’s marriage is scheduled on March 3. He has decided

to do away with ostentatious spending and will hold the marriage ceremony in the
temple at his village in a simple manner. He has bought 15 drip irrigation sets worth Rs
50,000 each from the saved money, which will be gifted to the 15 needy farmers
across Maharashtra on the day of the wedding.
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Opinion

Nationalism
A collection of his speeches on nationalism was published in 1917 and one of the
speeches, included in the book, denotes Tagore’s unconventional, integrated
views on Indian nationalism.

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Durgesh Ravande
Published on : 15 Aug, 2021, 9:23 am
Rabindranath Tagore was a versatile genius, a true nationalist and above all an
indisputable humanist who has been inspiring generations of intellectual and
empathetic minds irrespective of their religion, race, language and also the barriers
such as state and nation. The literary and artistic genius of Tagore, which spanned over
six decades, is nothing but a reflection of a sensitive artist, a sympathetic man of
letters, a profound thinker and a strategic experimentalist. It may be considered a
false promise if someone assures to introduce in brief his all-encompassing
intellectual engagements; therefore, the author of this article assures his readers an
introduction of Tagore’s thought-provoking perception on Indian nationalism focusing
the very soul of his intellectual deliberation.
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), popularly known as Gurudev, expressed his views
on Indian nationalism on various occasions. A collection of his speeches on nationalism
was published in 1917 with the same title and one of the speeches in it denotes
Tagore’s unconventional, integrated views on Indian nationalism. A substance of his
deliberation is that the true spirit of nationalism lies in its broad humanistic concern
rather constrained political strategy. The spread of fanatic nationalism during the
First World War might have forced him to interpret and blame it as an evil epidemic.
He was trying to subvert the popular idea of nationalism which was more a political
justification that encouraged grabbing other nations and their resources.
Tagore’s perception of nationalism has mainly relied on ancient Indian philosophy,

where the world was accepted as a single nest. In this way, Tagore was striving to
dissociate himself from the generalThe
belief of nationalism
Bridge Chronicle and trying to associate it with
ideas such as peace, harmony and www.thebridgechronicle.com
welfare. He argues further that if anyway India
decides to contribute the world; it should be only
INSTALL APPin the form of humanity.
Humanity, world over does not require a narrow but broad sense of nationalism.
y, q
Therefore, it should be formulated through various means of life. Tagore’s idea of
humanism goes beyond any boundaries or barriers and seeks at large a common place
where humanity comes before any other kind of identity. He adds further that the
saints such as Nanak, Kabir, Chaitanya ignited the flame of humanism in Indian minds.
But unfortunately, it was faded over time with an aggressive rise of racism and caste-
based disintegration of our society.
The ideas like purity and impurity of race have massacred millions over centuries. Even
two World Wars and other racial conflicts were provoked based on the false notions
of superiority. Nothing as such has really existed in this world where men and women
can be straightway divided and disintegrated. Therefore, his belief: ‘Only those
peoples have survived and achieved civilisation who have this spirit of co-operation
strong in them’ receives a cardinal significance. At large, human beings all over the
world should be glanced only through the mirror of co-operation and humanity.
Tagore considered that apart from political freedom, the freedom of mind is more
important. The Euro-centric notions of freedom have forced us to consider political
freedom as an ultimate destination in the journey of the freedom movement in our
country. Blind faith in Europe will instead increase our greed for possession. Hence,
we should give up this narrowness and be more comprehensive in our inward and
outward expressions that extend freedom of mind. Ultimately, this freedom of mind
finds harmony with the human soul and at large human life. He also believed that there
is only one history, i.e. history of man and other histories are mere chapters in the
larger one.
Nations with spiritual integration, love, and sympathy for others may find a permanent
place in any age. Thus, Indian nationalism or nationalism of any kind is nothing but a
mixture of integrated ideals of humanity and human welfare. It should be a tenable
progression that outsets within.
The world politics today indicates its growing narrowness in the form of mounting
significance given to the politics of dominance and also to the theory of division.
Tagore’s views on nationalism are much ahead of time and should reach the masses.
Let’s remember Tagore amid coronavirus pandemic for his integrated humanistic
concerns that survive in any crisis. The Bridge Chronicle
(Dr Durgesh Ravande is an Associate Professor in the Department of English, KKM

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College, Manwath in Parbhani District.)
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In for a win: Developed nations' 'Vaccine

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Vaccination Nationalism created room for countries like – India, China, and
maybe Russia to develop, produce and deliver vaccines in the developing part of
the world.
Aditi Malewar The Bridge Chronicle

Published on : 05 Aug, 2021, 1:46 pm

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Since the beginning of the pandemic, vaccines were the best shot at combating the
COVID-19 pandemic. With the rise in the number of cases around the world, the
desperation to develop a vaccine rose substantially. International collaborations
among scientists to develop an effective vaccine became unavoidable - frail
understanding between the nations, however, proved to be a major hurdle in reaching
the end of the COVID-19 tunnel.
What is Vaccine Nationalism?
The 'my nation first' ideology relating to the unhealthy distribution of vaccines has
birthed the concept of Vaccine Nationalism. Developed countries have entered into
multi-billion-dollar agreements with various pharmaceuticals for assured supplies of
vaccines to their citizens. These agreements mean that if any of the big-wig
pharmaceuticals are successful in developing a vaccine, they would have to supply the
number of vaccines mentioned in the agreement to the particular country, first.
Also Read | Vaccine Nationalism: When will you get the vaccine?
The developed countries like the US, UK, and the European Union have spent billions
of dollars on deals with vaccine developers such as Pfizer Inc, Johnson & Johnson, and
AstraZeneca; this was even before the efficacy of the vaccines was ascertained. While
it is sensible for the governments to prioritise the health of their citizens’ health, a
multi-nation drive to facilitate vaccination for people around the globe would have
been in every country’s self-interest.
What is Vaccine Maitri?
Vaccination Nationalism has created room for countries like – India, China, and maybe
Russia to develop, produce and deliver vaccines in the developing part of the world.
This opportunity was a door to Alex's Wonderland as it could potentially bolster their
influence and strengthen their ties with other nations. Grabbing the opportunity, India
- pharmacy of the world - initiated Vaccine Maitri.
Vaccine Maitri, translates to vaccine friendship, is an initiative by the Indian

government towards other countries of the world in helping everyone combat
COVID-19 with the ‘Made in India’ vaccines. Under its ‘neighbourhood first’ policy,
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to receive the vaccine consignments.
Following these, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Seychelles, Mauritius, Brazil, Kuwait,
B h i th h l t k f C i hi ld C
https://www.thebridgechronicle.com/opinion/who-says-farming-cannot-be-financially-sustainable-32109 i d 10/17
Bahrain, among others, have also got packages of – Covishield, Covaxin, and
AstraZeneca - the vaccines.
Jair M. Bolsonaro @jairbolsonaro · Jan 22, 2021

- Namaskar, Primeiro Ministro @narendramodi
- O Brasil sente-se honrado em ter um grande parceiro para superar

um obstáculo global. Obrigado por nos auxiliar com as exportações
de vacinas da Índia para o Brasil.
- Dhanyavaad! धनयवाद
Jair M. Bolsonaro
@jairbolsonaro
Namaskar, Prime Minister @narendramodi
Brazil feels honoured to have a great partner to overcome

a global obstacle by joining efforts.
Thank you for assisting us with

Thethe vaccines
Bridge Chronicleexports from
India to Brazil.
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8:24 PM · Jan 22, 2021

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On the 75th anniversary of the UN in September 2020, Prime Minister Narendra

Modi declared that India’s vaccine production capacity will help humanity in
combating the coronavirus.
How is Vaccine Nationalism destroying the world?
Rajeesh Kumar, an associate fellow at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence
Studies and Analyses, recently wrote an article on the institute’s website, mentioning
that many of the developed countries are believed to be stockpiling vaccines that are
disproportionate with their COVID-19 cases as well as their population. He further
elaborates with an example on how Australia, Canada, and Japan have less than one
per cent of the world's coronavirus cases, yet, they have pre-ordered more doses of
vaccines than all of Latin America and the Caribbean — a region with more than 17 per
cent of global coronavirus cases.
India’s capability to produce vaccines
India produces almost 60 per cent of vaccines in the world. Towards the beginning of
the pandemic, however, India stumbled a bit but soon the pharmacy of the world
pulled up its socks and ramped up the production of essential medicines like
paracetamol, hydroxychloroquine, etc. Not only did India prove its efficiency in the
production of medicines, but it also emerged as an exporter of Personal Protection
Equipment (PPE) kits, ventilators, and masks.
According to IBEF – India Brand Equity Foundation, India’s contribution to the

pharmaceutical and biotech workforce is the second largest in the world. The
country's domestic pharmaceutical market turnover reached Rs 1.4 lakh crore (US$
20.03 billion) in 2019, up 9.8% y-o-y from Rs 1.29 lakh crore (US$ 18.12 billion) in
2018. The website further mentions, that ‘Indian drugs are exported to more than 200
countries in the world, with the US being the key market.’

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Pharmaceutical
Infogram
How is Vaccine Maitri helping India and strengthening allies?
While most organisations and countries have applauded Modi-government’s Vaccine

Maitri, it is not purely out of goodwill that India is ‘oh so graciously’ distributing
vaccines to the world.
Experts have been drawing a tangent between the country’s Vaccine Maitri and other
policies like Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (The World is One Family), Neighbourhood
First, and South-South Cooperation. Though, the initiative is strategically increasing
country’s hold over the international Pharma sector, it is understood that India is also
aiming to gain soft power over various beneficiaries. Does soft power, however, gain
the much-anticipated results?
Dr Vijay Khare, Director, Department

The of Defence
Bridge and Strategic Studies at Savitribai
Chronicle
Phule Pune University, explains, “In the human history soft diplomacy always plays an
important role. Like how countries like the UK offered educational fellowships, with
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that kind of soft diplomacy they developed a strategic partnership with different
countries. In the contemporary world, this (vaccine maitri) would be once of
opportunity to develop strategic partnership with neighbouring countries.”
Mentioning
News soft diplomacy’s
Politics Tech limitations,
Business Dr Khare adds,Life
Knowledge “At theMedia
same time,
Puneone must
Sports
not expect that (from the beneficiaries). This is soft diplomacy… and (it) can always
change as per the time. So to some extent it gets emotional support from the local
population (for the respective country), but when it comes to building better
relationships you need hard diplomacy.”
Algeria
He further adds, “In a contemporary global politics, where China is assertive, (and)
Russia is facing internal turbulence, India can play an important role through this soft
diplomacy… Ultimately what is important for each individual nation is its national
interest. So in that way if (one) considers that through this Vaccine Maitri, (one) will
get all the support that will not happen. It would be (certainly) help to strengthen
strategic partnership, but (one must) always prepare with hard diplomacy. As long
COVID 19 is there, each one will talk, each one will appreciate, but after COVID-19 or
when the situation normalise people will forget, and then they will bounce back to
their own strategic issues.”
In the race to win!

Even though India is not a player inwww.thebridgechronicle.com
vaccine politics, it is certainly leading the vaccine
diplomacy drive. Indian government’s aim to win over conflicts through soft diplomacy
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may not yield the kind of result on hoped for, the country however has put itself on the
map among more powerful countries.
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11/19/21, 6:34 PM Who says farming cannot be financially sustainable?

News Politics Tech Business Knowledge Life Media Pune Sports

Who says farming cannot be financially

Published on : 23 Feb, 2019, 11:42 pm

The Bridge Chronicle

Emphasising the need to replicate this model in drought-hit Marathwada and

GIFTING DRIP SETS

Dnyaneshwar Bodke’s daughter’s marriage is scheduled on March 3. He has decided

Enjoyed reading The Bridge Chronicle?

Top Companies are Hiring

Opportunity To Live Your Dream. Submit

#WorldRadioDay: Is the audio-only medium making a

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Opportunity To Live Your Dream. Submit

Rabindranath Tagore’s perception of Indian

The Bridge Chronicle

News Politics Tech Business Knowledge Life Media Pune Sports

Published on : 15 Aug, 2021, 9:23 am

Tagore’s perception of nationalism has mainly relied on ancient Indian philosophy,

(Dr Durgesh Ravande is an Associate Professor in the Department of English, KKM

Enjoyed reading The Bridge Chronicle?

News Politics Tech Business Knowledge Life Media Pune Sports

#WorldRadioDay: Is the audio-only medium making a

Why should red be the only colour of

India faces ‘glacier-sized’ side effects of

The Bridge Chronicle

News Politics Tech Business Knowledge Life Media Pune Sports

In for a win: Developed nations' 'Vaccine

Aditi Malewar The Bridge Chronicle

Published on : 05 Aug, 2021, 1:46 pm

News Politics Tech Business Knowledge Life Media Pune Sports

What is Vaccine Nationalism?

What is Vaccine Maitri?

Vaccine Maitri, translates to vaccine friendship, is an initiative by the Indian

Jair M. Bolsonaro @jairbolsonaro · Jan 22, 2021

- O Brasil sente-se honrado em ter um grande parceiro para superar

Namaskar, Prime Minister @narendramodi

Brazil feels honoured to have a great partner to overcome

Thank you for assisting us with

Dhanyavaad! धनयवाद INSTALL APP

8:24 PM · Jan 22, 2021

55K See the latest COVID-19 information on Twitter

News Politics Tech Tweet your reply

On the 75th anniversary of the UN in September 2020, Prime Minister Narendra

How is Vaccine Nationalism destroying the world?

India’s capability to produce vaccines

According to IBEF – India Brand Equity Foundation, India’s contribution to the

The Bridge Chronicle

News Politics Tech Business Knowledge Life Media Pune Sports

How is Vaccine Maitri helping India and strengthening allies?

While most organisations and countries have applauded Modi-government’s Vaccine

Dr Vijay Khare, Director, Department

opportunity to develop strategic partnership with neighbouring countries.”

In the race to win!

Enjoyed reading The Bridge Chronicle?

COVID19 COVID vaccine COVISHIELD COVAXIN

Vaccine Nationalism Vaccine Maitri

#WorldRadioDay: Is the audio-only medium making a