I am Shekhar from uttarakhand. Currently I am working in a IT company in Delhi. I am not much interested in IT sector and want to go for farming. I am from a very poor family background, I do not have land for farming but I can arrange 1000 sq. mtr land for greenhouse/polyhouse. I have few queries as mentioned below:
Could you guys please help me to understand why polyhouse are so costly (I heard 35 to 45 lacs per acre)? I just see plastic cover, shed net, a woodan/PVC or metal structure, water tank, drip irregation system, electric motor for water supply. Is somthing else that make it so expensive? Please make me clear.
Could you give me an idea how to start polyhouse farming with very low capital?
Is it possible to start farming on 1000 sq. mtr. with 2 Lacs capital? if not, what can be the least budget?
How to apply for government schemes/subsidies?
what are the steps of production and marketing with least capital and high income?
I wud appreciate if you guys can please answer my queries.
When I enquired for the rates of 200u LDPE, the best bargain was Rs.90/sq.m + taxes for a 5 layered sheet. So for 1000 sq.m, sheet cost itself would be roughly 90k.
My suggestion would be to speculate design ideas for bamboo + shadenet. Cost wise it would be cheaper but life/replacement needs to be considered by comparing with other available options.
Also, not sure if subsidy will be available for bamboo based setups. May be someone here might help us by providing details…
If we want low cost polyhouse then we have to switch to bamboo polyhouse as GI pipe, fittings, nuts, bolts etc. are costly.
Regarding subsidy yes on bamboo structure also its applicable in NHB as well as NHM.
Only problem with bamboo polyhouse is that there are very few vendors who are doing it.
Try to figure out if someone in your state can do that for you.
its quite true that the GH looks like a set of steel rods and just plastic covered on it but the sheer volume of steel required for it make s it a bit expensive plus the companies setting up the GH are under strict government control which have fixed their rates.
What i can suggest is go in for a shade net cultivation progaram. it will very much viable and cost effective for you. there are several loads of crops that you can take in shade net cultivation.
Also Pavans idea seems good but in practicality it will not be a durable setup.
You are right but in shade nets how to deal with rains and moreover yield will be less as compared to PH.
Mainly it depends upon what crop one is planning to cultivate.
Polyhouse and shadenet dont give same effect. In shadenet humidity cannot be controlled as effectively as PH.
Now to the main topic. The PH needs steel structure which is resistant of strong wind. Tons of steel and weather resistatant poly cloth makes it expensive.
I have seen a coffee planter having a shade net constructed on silver oak plantation. He grows anthurium. In this case he spent only on shadenet and some wires to bind. May this one is cheapest ever I saw. He has wind barriers on the boundary to safegaurd from wind.
He has only problem is that silver oak sheds leaves and the litter have to be cleaned frequently.
Its very true that PH costs more than shadenet, beause of water resisitivity and durability, but either ways if steel structure is used for the skeleton it is costly when compared to bamboo structure.
But again, wait a min, why is it so costly even if its steel structure? Most fabricators work as per rate/kg basis. In the case of PH they follow rate/sq.m. Absurd!!
When enquired, not a single provider cared to respond when confronted with rate/kg offer.That is when i concluded, as Monesh here points out “companies setting up the GH are under strict government control which have fixed their rates.”
We as a company already into structural engineering design for mounting structures for solar panels, decided to do it ourselves and launch it as a new product offering.
Already in talk with couple of known farmers for a cost to cost erection for about half an acre pilot PH. Would post the economics once we complete it i.e if we are embarked trust upon us.
Or I am already in the process of building a model PH in my home at 1000sft. Would post economics soon.
The PH constructors when enquired for a break up showed 200u LDPE to be an avg Rs.90/sq.m,
but
When enquired directly with a manufacturer, yes not an intensive research, just a random call through justdial, I was shocked to be quoted Rs.60/sq.m and promised better price depending on volume!!
With the kind of margin levels these guys operate, no wonder why the price is benchmarked @ 935!!
You are absolutely right i think benchmark is due to the subsidy norms when i inquired everyone was saying same.
While drilling down about component wise cost they said we can do it 650 Rs /sqm excluding labor.
One more thing 935 Rs/Sqm includes Micro irrigation (Drip lines, foggers, ventury etc.)
So i moved to further investigate that what exactly going wrong and found bamboo PH which in turn is nothing but a replica of GI PH wherein Pipes are replaced by Bamboo.
I am still working on it once i am done will keep everyone updated.
Meanwhile your point of per kg rate is a game changer.
Even considering micro irrigation, 935 or even 650 is way costly per actuals, I strongly believe that if done it should not be no more than Rs.400 - 450 for a fully automated GI PH. Of course I am considering solar powered drip irrigation, solar powered illumination, air circulators etc. God why cant I take solar out of any equation! :p.
But again this should be absolutely realistic.
Imagine a scenario of light weight materials, fabricated considering structural engineering design constraints for load calculations. Commercials in this case at rate/kg would make lot of sense. This I believe is the way to go.
If we can achieve this, we can rest assure atleast 75% less on bamboo based basic PH for budget farmers.
BTW,
“I am still working on it once i am done will keep everyone updated”
Its good to hear about solar powered equipment maybe with your help i can also use it.
As far as point of design is concerned loads on PH is self weight wind rains etc.
Bamboo PH is also capable of handling it.
I have visited couple of bamboo PH who are 12 years old and working fine.
As i said I am still working it means as a pilot project i will be setting up my own in 1 acre.
Its in process. My view was why to use GI pipe if bamboo can provide us the same functionality.
If your costing comes to 400-450 for a fully automated then it would be a great help to small farmers as due to capital they want to start in 1000 sqm.
Hope we can help others.
I agree your point, why use GI when bamboo can do the same job.
But when you say you visited couple of bamboo PH’s, did they have polyethylene sheets or shadenets??
Because technically talking laying polyethylene over bamboo would require nailing the sheets which will tear against wind.Because of the shadenet’s texture nailing dont cause big harm. This is one of the reasons why aluminium profiles are bolted to GI pipes then LDPE sheets are laid using zig zag screws instead of nailing.
Shadenet is poor man’s LDPE, so bamboo PH best if put in use with shadenet alone would prove economical.
I happen to notice so many such setups near Madanapalle, Mysore - Kollegal roads etc. But mostly nurseries. Wonder what they do during rains…
My point here is bamboo + LDPE + automation. The best bet for now, isnt it?
)