In the harsh, wind-swept expanses of Ladakh, where winter temperatures often plummet below –30 degrees Celsius, sunlight remains intense and agricultural landholdings are small. Farming in open fields is limited to the short summer window between May and September. Yet, in this high-altitude cold desert, innovation has taken root. Protected cultivation now enables vegetable production even when the ground lies beneath a blanket of snow.
Ladakh's extreme environment, with its thin atmosphere, high ultraviolet light exposure and limited water resources, restricts traditional farming. Around half of all households own less than 0.5 hectares of land and open-field cultivation is confined to just a few months each year. To address this, several forms of protected cultivation, like passive solar greenhouses, trench greenhouses and low tunnels have been introduced and adapted to local conditions.
These structures create controlled micro-environments for crops. These designs trap solar radiation and conserve heat, allowing for year-round or extended-season cultivation, improving yields and strengthening food and nutritional security in the region.
The Defence Institute of High-Altitude Research (DIHAR), formerly the Field Research Laboratory (FRL), pioneered greenhouse agriculture in Ladakh. Experiments began in 1964, with successful cultivation of vegetables such as kale, parsley, celery, spinach, lettuce and Swiss chard in controlled environments.
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