Strong winds and heavy rains this season have destroyed the net-houses of many farmers in Punjab. Acting on the complaints of farmers, who were growing off-season vegetables, Punjab State Farmers’ Commission (PSFC) has decided to strengthen the structure of net houses.
Net-houses are structures made of nets and pipes used to cover fruits and vegetables to maintain their nutrition value. They also help in controlling oxygen supply and fending off pests. PSFC has also decided to increase the subsidy from Rs 20,000 to Rs 40,000 per net house in view of the damage suffered by farmers. To fortify the structure of the net-houses farmers have been asked to use GI pipes in place of MS pipes. The cost of new structure is estimated around Rs 90,000 per kanal area. One kanal area is equivalent to around five hundred square meters of land.
GS Kalkat, chairman of PSFC who promoted net-cultivation in the state said, ?Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) experiments have shown that vegetables grown under net houses give higher yield and better quality?. The small farmer earn a net income of more than Rs 1.50 lakh per annum from two net house units.
“In Punjab, about 3 lakh farmers operate on less than five acres of land. They constitute 30% of the total farm holdings but cultivate only about 8% of the total land. They can be encouraged to opt for net-cultivation which will bring higher remuneration”, he added.
During the last three years, the commission has set up 200 net house units of one kanal each across the state and aims at achieving the target of 500 net houses. Currently, farmers are undertaking net farming for three vegetables-capsicum, brinjal and tomatoes-in Punjab.