Abhinav Farmers Club
Abhinav Farmers Club is a national award-winning group farming initiative located in Mulshi taluka, of Pune district of Maharashtra a state in India. The club started with 850 farmers in Maharashtra cultivating about 143 hectares of land. It was conceptualised by NABARD, in April 2012, the club had 4,600 members belonging to the states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.{{cite news|url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-04-18/news/31361476_1_polyhouse-exotic-vegetables-land-rates|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140827230419/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-04-18/news/31361476_1_polyhouse-exotic-vegetables-land-rates|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 27, 2014|title=Polyhouse farming takes root in Pimpri-Chinchwad|last=Kulkarni|first=Prachee|date=2012-04-18|work=Economic Times|access-date=23 November 2012|location=Mumbai}} The club was set up in 2004.{{cite news|url=http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/pune-farmers-join-hands-to-improve-earnings/12/16/343422/|title= Pune farmers join hands to improve earnings|last=Godbole|first=Pravada |date=2008-12-17|work=Business Standard|access-date=23 November 2012}} It received a national award for its activities in 2008.{{cite web|url=http://www.abhinavfarmersclub.org/About%20Us.html|title=About us|access-date=23 November 2012|publisher=Abhinav Farmers Club|location=Pune}}{{cite web|url=http://www.ctara.iitb.ac.in/fieldvisits/2010-11/Talegaon_Sept18-2010.pdf|title=Field trip to HTC, Talegaon and Abhinav Farmers’ Club, Hinjewadi Pune|date=2010-09-18|publisher=Centre for Technology Alternatives in Rural Areas|access-date=23 November 2012|location=Mumbai|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808012243/http://www.ctara.iitb.ac.in/fieldvisits/2010-11/Talegaon_Sept18-2010.pdf|archive-date=2016-08-08|url-status=dead}} The Club was started by Dnyaneshwar Bodke,{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/business/slide-show/slide-show-1-the-rags-to-riches-story-of-a-farmer/20101227.htm|title=The inspiring, rags-to-riches story of a farmer |date=2012-12-27|work=Rediff Business|access-date=24 November 2012|location=Mumbai}} who is its chief volunteer.{{cite news|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/vegetables-rice-make-a-direct-entry-from-farms-to-households/491414/0|title=Vegetables, rice make a direct entry from farms to households|last=Raghavan|first=Ranjani|date=2012-07-20|newspaper=The Indian Express|access-date=23 November 2012|location=New Delhi}} The club grows flowers and organic vegetables in polyhouses, it sells its produce to retail outlets in Mumbai and New Delhi.{{cite news|url=http://www.livemint.com/Politics/fW2Pw8ziSw8mFsElM8AEnM/Planting-the-seeds-of-prosperity.html|title=Planting the seeds of prosperity|last=Bhattacharyya |first=Pramit|date=2012-05-17|work=Live Mint and The Wall Street Journal|access-date=23 November 2012|location=New Delhi}}{{cite web|url=http://nhm.nic.in/Planting-the-seeds-of-prosperity.pdf |title=Planting the seeds of prosperity |last=Bhattacharyya |first=Pramit |publisher=National Horticulture Mission |access-date=24 November 2012 |location=New Delhi }}{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
During Covid-19 pandemic in India they used extensively the Locacart app for seamless delivery of vegetables and fruits thorough e-commerce, developed by IIT Mumbai.{{Cite web|url=https://www.loksatta.com/pune-news/abhinav-farmers-club-pune-supply-fresh-vegetables-supply-organic-product-1554618/|title=ब्रॅण्ड पुणे : सात हजारांहून अधिक घरांत ‘अभिनव’ची भाजी|date=21 September 2017|website=Loksatta.com|access-date=17 April 2021}}
It is assisting over 150 households in the city of Pune to grow their own vegetables on vegetable patches in balconies and terraces of flats and in pots.{{cite news|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/to-cut-down-daily-budget-city-residents-take-to-growing-vegetables/553889/0|title=To cut down daily budget, city residents take to growing vegetables|last=Raghavan|first=Ranjane|date=2009-12-14|newspaper=Indian Express|access-date=23 November 2012|location=New Delhi}}