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Journalism of Courage
Exotic flowers such as gerbera, carnation and lilium, so far imported, are now being grown in Punjab under a poly house farming scheme of the National Horticulture Mission, which grants 50 per cent subsidy on the cost of planting and setting up the poly houses.
Around the world, carnations and liliums are in demand for the preparation of bouquets, while gerbera is popular in decoration. Punjab’s tradition has been marigolds, sunflowers and gladioses. Now farmers have tried an Indo-Israel technique in poly house farming and the experiment has clicked with the non-traditional varieties despite the odds — extreme weather and hardly any financial support from the government. Himachal Pradesh and Haryana gives comparatively large subsidies over and above the 50 per cent subsidy under NHM.
The NHM scheme has been available for four or five years in the state but few took to it initially because of a high initial cost. Until three years ago, Punjab had just a couple of floriculture poly houses; now, nearly 25 poly houses have come up, most of them in 2013. Another 20 poly houses are under construction.
Under the scheme, two types of poly houses about three to four metres high are being set up in Punjab. Called “naturally ventilated” and “hi-tech poly house employing sand-and-pad system”, these seek to maintain the temperature between 25 and 30°C, which is ideal for full bloom. Most of Punjab’s poly houses are of the “naturally ventilated” kind. The flower beds, made as long as desired, are separated by pathways 1 to 1.5 feet wide for easy movement
and drainage.
“The construction and plantation cost for a 1,000 sq m, naturally ventilated poly house is around Rs 9.35 lakh while the cost for a hi-tech one the same size is Rs 14.65 lakh. NHM provides 50 per cent subsidy on both types of poly houses,” says horticulture director Dr Lajwinder Singh Brar. “Apart from this, growers have to spend on labour, pesticides, fungicides themselves.”
A 2,000 sq m unit can fetch a net income of Rs 4-5 lakh, which translates into Rs 8-12 lakh per acre per year, while a farmer barely makes Rs 50,000 per acre in wheat or paddy cultivation. “Floriculture units save on groundwater as drip irrigation is used here, increase the productivity of land and also fulfil the government’s objective of encouraging diversification,” says Dr Lajwinder.
The flowers can be planted round the year but in Punjab this is done mostly during September-October. Gerbera and carnations are three-year crops. The first flowers come three months after plantation and these are high-cash crops, says horticulture development officer Dr Lal Bahadur. “Farmers can recover their entire investment within two years if they are able to get a good market.”
“It’s a wonderful business and I extended it from one acre to three, opening three poly houses one acre each, in the past two years,” says Rahul Gupta. “But in Punjab, the cost is high compared to costs in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The returns on investment in the first season are 50 to 55 per cent there, against 30 to 40 per cent in Punjab. Apart from NHM subsidies, those state governments too provide subsidies.”
Kulwaran Singh Atwal, vice president of the Punjab Poly House Owners’ Association, has a 1.25-acre (4,500 sq m) polyhouse in which he started growing gerberas one-and-a-half years ago. Winner of the “innovative in diversified farming” award from Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana, he also grew liliums and carnations but found these needed power supply round the clock to maintain the right temperatures amid Punjab’s extremes.
“Gerberas can be grown in a naturally ventilated poly house throughout the year, though production is low in extreme winter,” says Atwal. “For carnations and liliums, we need hi-tech poly houses where the temperature is maintained by running foggers every half-hour during extreme summers. That is possible only if we get power round the clock.”
Manjit Singh, who has started gerbera cultivation and whose family owns four poly houses on 8,000 sq m, says he cultivated even carnations for two years by setting up a hi-tech unit on a half-acre plot in Jugral village in Jalandhar. He says they need government support in marketing as well as re-plantation after every three years, not just a one-time subsidy, pointing out that plantation of gerberas on 1,000 sq m costs Rs 1.5 to 2 lakh.
Atwal says the market for these imported varieties is good in Punjab but only during the wedding season; otherwise the major market is Delhi.
Apart from poly house floriculture, Punjab has 2,060 hectares currently under commercial floriculture and these produce 10,055 tonnes fresh and cut flowers.
Like Gupta, Atwal stresses the need for state subsidy. “We are getting 50 per cent subsidy from NHM but to be in competition we need subsidy from the Punjab government too,” Atwal says. “Haryana provides 15 per cent and Himachal Pradesh 90 per cent. Haryana even gives subsidy for drip irrigation. Punjab farmers are investing 50 per cent while those in Haryana and Himachal are investing just 35 and 10 per cent for growing same varieties. They can afford to charge less than Punjab farmers do in markets such as Delhi… Even Bihar is giving 90 per cent subsidy.”
Gupta suggests the government open tissue culture labs to provide bulbs to farmers who are now getting these from Bangalore and Pune at high rates.
Though a poly house survives many years, the net and the poly sheets need to be replaced after some years and the government should provide subsidy on that too, farmers say.
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