Polyhouse - Work in Progress

As I researched more on polyhouse, I was convinced that it would indeed be a very effective infrastructure for my commercial farming activity. I decided to get formal training in this. As a result, I completed greenhouse management training at Horticulture Training Centre, Talegaon near Pune.

There I came across a group of farmers who carry out vegetable cultivation in polyhouses using organic methods. This was a perfect combination for me. I went ahead and attended a 3-day workshop that the farmers group conducts on organic vegetable cultivation.

With the backing of knowledge from 2 formal training courses and my 3 years of agriculture experience, I was ready for the big plunge. I decided to go ahead with the polyhouse construction.

I decided to begin with a smaller one, so that I can carry out my experiments here. I chose an area of 450 sq.m. Though the work should have been completed in a short time, the actual construction took longer than expected. This was primarily due to unavailability of skilled labour for polyhouse erection.

At the time of this writing, the external structure of the polyhouse is ready and internal work (bed preparation, drip lines etc) needs to be completed.

Attached are the few snaps of the polyhouse erection.

Frames are formed using the pipes. You can see the foundation pipes with the concrete.

The frames have been put together

The first plastic sheet has been put on top

The structure is ready. Double door entry

An insider’s view. The heaps of red soil and cow dung will be spread inside

From Weekend Farmer to Agripreneur

Start of Season III was on a silent note. I decided to skip paddy cultivation; I wanted to get into this full time; I was realising how most people in cities were unhappy about the quality of vegetables, grains etc they were getting and there maybe an opportunity there- a good commercial opportunity. The entrepreneur in me was working overtime. My brain was now working more on how I can commercialize the activities at the farm.

I started putting down the major obstacles that I had encountered during the last 2 years. I realized that the biggest 2 constraints for me were

Non-availability of labour

Labour is unavailable to work on the field. They prefer to work in godowns around my farm, where they say “atleast we get to work in shade, unlike agriculture”. Despite these problems, if one is successful in getting labour, it is prohibitively expensive.

Production all round the year

During the rainy season, only rice cultivation and only limited vegetables are possible. In the Summer season, again only a limited set of vegetables can be grown, considering the heat and limited availability of water. That leaves out close to half the year not very favourable for vegetables

The optimum solution for the above mentioned issues is polyhouse.

Wikipedia describes polyhouse as “A polytunnel (also known as a polyhouse, hoop greenhouse or hoophouse, or high tunnel) is a tunnel made of polyethylene, usually semi-circular, square or elongated in shape. The interior heats up because incoming solar radiation from the sun warms plants, soil, and other things inside the building faster than heat can escape the structure. Air warmed by the heat from hot interior surfaces is retained in the building by the roof and wall. Temperature, humidity and ventilation can be controlled by equipment fixed in the polytunnel.”

Though the labour issue is not eliminated here, automation can be introduced for numerous polyhouse activities, thereby reducing the need for labour. Polyhouse structure allows for growing of vegetables round the year, and also helps to increase the yield.

Why vegetables ?

Vegetables are consumed fresh, unlike cereals or pulses. However by the time these vegetables reach our home, after changing multiple hands, they lose their freshness. Also the food miles (distance travelled from farm to plate) is much higher.

I saw this as a great opportunity due to proximity of my farm to Mumbai. If I grow vegetables at farm and directly sell it to consumers, I will be able to reduce the food miles and also ensure freshness of the vegetables delivered.

A quick check with friends and acquaintances around strengthened my hypothesis. A lot of people expressed their concern that they are unaware about the source of vegetables. Quite a few folks in Mumbai mentioned about the vegetables grown alongside the railway tracks. The water used for irrigating these plots and for cleaning the vegetables was unhealthy. 

http://www.mid-day.com/news/2013/jan/280113-your-vegetables-are-grown-and-cleaned-in-gutter-water.htm

Even Amir Khan on his show Satyamev jayate had discussed about the poison on our plate. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9uForVzTOA

So my research for polyhouse and organic farming kicked off .......