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 red and yellow bell peppers 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 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.
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