India: 'Poly house farming can solve vegetable supply crisis'

Poly house farming can mitigate supply crisis of vegetables in cities if the new farming technology is deployed on a large-scale in surrounding regions, a senior official of Mother Dairy, a wholly owned subsidiary of India's National Dairy Development Board commented on Friday. "New farming technologies like poly house farming are proving to be game changers and ensures supply security for our customers with strong back end linkage," Mother Dairy Business Head of Horticulture Pradipta Kumar Sahoo said.

He was speaking at the 'All India Farmers Meet' in Karnal in Haryana. Sahoo emphasised that poly farming techniques could placate all supply related issues of vegetables in big cities, provided these techniques are used on a large scale near consumptions hubs.

"Seasonal vegetables like tomato and capsicum has favoured for such practises. The poly-house condition permits better crop production which reduces dependence on rainfall and makes optimum use of land and water resources," he said in a statement.

At the meeting in Haryana, the farmers were informed about the changing market demand and importance of food safety standards. The day-long event saw overwhelming participation from over 200 farmers across 13 states.

Mother Dairy sells vegetables at its stores under the flagship brand Safal