The Shekhawati region of Rajasthan, famous for its onions, is now seeing a shift as farmers adopt modern techniques to grow new crops. Two farmers from Khud village in Sikar—Mahendra Sankhla and Mukesh Bakolia—have turned barren land into thriving fields using poly house farming.
Mahendra, who had run a hardware shop for two decades, was inspired after seeing poly house farming in a nearby village. He spent weeks studying cucumber cultivation through YouTube videos before setting up his first poly house on four bigha of barren land. Within months, he harvested 40 tonnes of cucumbers, attracting buyers from Sikar, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh. Encouraged, he expanded to another poly house. Today, alongside cucumbers, he also grows millet and groundnuts, and his annual income has multiplied compared to his earlier business.
Mukesh's journey began differently. After completing his studies and failing to secure a government job, he turned to farming on his family's barren land. In 2021, he built his first poly house and started with cucumbers. His success pushed him to try tomatoes as well. To tackle water scarcity, he constructed a pond to collect rainwater and uses drip irrigation, reducing water use while ensuring steady yields. He now grows two crops annually, with cucumbers remaining his most profitable.
Both farmers' stories reflect a larger change in Shekhawati: traditional farming is giving way to modern, resource-efficient methods. With poly houses and water-saving practices, once-barren land is being transformed into sustainable sources of livelihood.
Read the full story at Bhaskar English
