Amarnath Phulekar from Islampur village in Bidar district has tasted success by growing vegetables in a polyhouse built in his farm.
He has built a polyhouse on a one-acre plot. Mr. Phulekar scouted for a potent market for the red and yellow capsicum that he grows in this unit. He met a vegetable wholesaler in Pune and sold him his stock for an encouraging price of Rs. 100 per kg.
The polyhouse is drip irrigated and has foggers to maintain steady temperature in summer. Fertilizer and insecticides are mostly fed through the drip irrigation channels. The one-acre farm has a team of eight labourers working in two shifts, irrigating the beds, strengthening the plants with sticks and wires and checking for signs of pest or insect attack. “Vegetables in a polyhouse are like babies in intensive care units. They need constant care,” says Mr. Phulekar.
He plans to produce at least 25 tonnes of the high value vegetable in one year, at an estimated 60 per cent yield and continue selling it at these rates. “If we earn around 25 lakh per year, and spend around 30 per cent of it on cost of cultivation, we can repay the Rs. 40 lakh bank loan and achieve break even in two years,” Mr. Phulekar said. He got a 90 per cent subsidy for building the polyhouse from the Department of Horticulture under the National Horticulture Mission scheme. Mr. Phulekar’s one-acre polyhouse is the biggest project in the district. “We are also promoting 20 other, albeit smaller polyhouses,” says S.M. Baragimath, Deputy Director of Horticulture. The scheme provides 90 per cent subsidy to farmers from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and 50 per cent to others.
Mr. Phulekar is a diligent farmer who knows his numbers well. He says the most important principle is to reinvest money obtained from farming into improving crop cultivation practices. “Several times, farmers tend to take out money from farming and use it on family expenses. Such reduced investment cycles will not help farmers,” he says.
Mr. Phulekar plans to put solar panels on the top of an open tank meant to collect from borewells. He is buying hybrid and native breed of cows and buffaloes to set up a mini dairy on his farm. “We will use the slurry as an input for our ‘gobar’ gas plant,” Mr. Phulekar said.
Five years ago, he successfully cultivated banans on his 20-acre plot and profited from it by ensuring that he got weekly and monthly harvests of various types. What is important, he shares his knowledge of agriculture and advanced farming methods with young farmers who visit his field. He also visits farm fairs organised by agriculture universities and colleges and organises field studies on his farm.
The polyhouse is drip irrigated and has foggers to maintain steady temperature in summer
Source : The Hindu
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